New Life
by StarvingLunatic
Summary: The sequel to New Blood, for the Halloween spirit. The quest for the cure continues with Kim still being a vampire. She and Shego are still under the thumb of GJ. Will they get away? Will Kim be cured? KiGo.
1. Sunrise

I don't own these characters.

A/N: this is the long-requested sequel to New Blood, which came out a year ago. You should read that before this to find out what's going on. If you read "New Blood" then you're clear to read this and I hope you enjoy it.

Also, there will be more Kigo-y goodness here. The M-rating actually kicks in right here.

New Life

1: Sunrise

Shego yawned as she put down a file that she was reading, moving it from her face, but keeping it in her hand. She glanced at the clock with droopy emerald eyes to see that it was six in the morning; the numbers were a little blurry due to the fact that she was exhausted. She needed to go to sleep, she told herself. Her body was in agreement with her, but also in disagreement. Despite years of being nocturnal, her body still fought against it most of the time, wanting to be washed in the wonderful rays of the sun like in the past.

Shego needed the sun, desired to be kissed by the life-giving star. Her body reminded her of that much of the time when she was about to go to sleep when the sun was in the sky because her body would fight off sleep. Sometimes, she gave into her body's desire for the sun, staying up for the whole day. Every now and then, she imagined that she was sunbathing as she stood in front of the apartment's bay windows in the living room. All she could do was imagine it now; she was not allowed outside when the sun was up.

Shego was a prisoner, after all. She was in Global Justice's custody and the only reason that she was not locked away in most secure, darkest, deepest, foulest jail cell on Earth was because of one person. Well, one vampire, who was making her presence known just as Shego thought about her.

The convicted felon was taken from her thoughts as she noticed a lump in her covers. The lump began making its way up to her. It actually took her brain a moment to realize what that lump was. Her charge was being naughty again.

"Kimmie! What've I told you about just appearing in my room?" Shego huffed as the redhead curled up next to her. Kim made sure that the black blanket covered her whole body.

"Comfy," Kim muttered with a yawn as she settled into the warm form that she was against. She smiled softly as she started to drift off to sleep already.

"And damn it, be more careful! My blinds are open," Shego pointed out in reprimanding tone as she reached for a remote control and the blinds slammed shut, cutting out all of that wonderful sunlight that Shego's body longed to be caressed by. Not that her body was complaining about the weight against her now.

"I'm fine," Kim countered as if she was in no danger at all, eyes shut, letting her roommate know that she was well on her way to dreamland. She had not even been thinking about the sun or the blinds when she came in, only lying next to the older woman was on her mind.

"You could've been hurt, though," Shego argued with concern in her voice and worry glinting in her eyes. She did press Kim closer to her, more for her reassurance than anything else that Kim had not gone up in flames thanks to those few moments of sunlight hitting the bed.

It was not an uncommon occurrence for Shego to allow her emotions into her voice or expression, but only when she was with Kim. Spending six years with the redheaded vampire had allowed her to open up to Kim in ways that she never would think about doing with anyone else. It helped that they were really the only contact that they had with sentient beings outside of running errands for Global Justice, but they did not think that was the end-all-be-all of their very deep relationship.

"I'm fine," Kim repeated, sounding a bit annoyed now because she was being kept from going to sleep against just about the best pillow in the world.

"What're you doing in here anyway?" the pale woman inquired curiously. She changed the subject because Kim was right; she was fine. Nothing happened, so it was time to move on. Besides, she did not want to be a nag.

Shego knew that Kim disliked it when she harped on and on, beating a dead horse so to speak. They knew that Shego did it out of concern, first because she had been the one that rescued Kim and felt that she was responsible for the redhead's wellbeing. But, now, there was more to it than that. They were all they had in the world for the moment and Shego did not want anything to happen to the best thing in her life.

Kim knew that, but she still got irked when Shego pestered her. It was like she was being treated like a child, but she tried to keep an even temper about things. She usually made her mood known through her tone, but she almost never yelled. She made the attempt to stay calm most of the time to avoid things getting awkward; she had to live with Shego after all.

"I wanted to cuddle you. It's easier to do that in your bed than in my coffin," the younger woman explained as she held in a yawn.

Shego could not argue that one and shrugged a bit, making sure to keep her grip on Kim. It was much easier to cuddle in the bed. She adjusted her arms around the smaller redhead, embracing her with care and love. Kim smiled to herself while putting her arms around Shego, which caused a small smile to creep onto the green-skinned woman's face. Looking at them now, it would be hard to believe that either of them had been a little upset a few moments ago.

"Just cuddling, though," the raven-haired woman warned the little vampire in a firm tone, her eyes fixed on Kim. Her gemmed eyes softened with each second that passed as they watched the petite blood-drinker.

"Yeah, just cuddling," Kim agreed with another yawn, showing off her fangs for the moment that her mouth was open. Most people probably would have been scared to see Kim's fangs, but Shego had gotten to the point where she thought that Kim yawning was cute, especially when she showed her fangs.

Shego looked down at Kim as her breathing evened out, letting the former villainess know that the vampire was sleeping already. Despite being a vampire, Kim was still human in many ways. She actually wanted and needed to be reminded of that too. Shego was the same, but Kim was more honest about it outwardly and inwardly.

The redhead still needed physical contact and affection from a person, which Shego openly offered now. Being with Kim like that let Shego know that she too was still human because she needed the same things and Kim eagerly delivered them. They brought each other a great sense of peace that most people probably would have killed for if they only knew it existed.

They were all that they had at the moment. Hell, Kim might be all Shego ever had, the pale woman thought. She was going to be "in jail" for a long time, so her brothers might possibly forget her. Drakken would probably forget her too, not that she cared…or so she told herself. Sure, she had rediscovered her emotions thanks to being with Kim for six years, but she still could not admit that she might actually care about her goofy brothers or nutty employer.

Shego would actually rather not think about her brothers or Drakken because it would be a long time before she ever saw them, _if_ she ever saw them again. She did not think that it would do her any good to let them be on her mind considering she might start longing for them or changing her memories to ease away any upset feelings that might come up from being without them. Her family was lost to her as far as she believed, but she was not going to let the same thing happen to Kim.

"You're all I got left and I actually find I like being with you. Not that I'm going to go spreading that around or nothing like that," the felon commented in a low tone, her gaze still fixed on the sleeping vampire in her arms. "It's because of that and because I promised you, that I'm going to do right by you, Kimmie. I'm going to cure you, even if it means you might leave me. I just…I want you to be okay," she whispered and hoped to God and Hell that Kim really was asleep.

Kim seemed to sense the words from Shego and snuggled closer into her, rubbing her nose into Shego's neck. The vampire whimpered, a pleasant and delighted sound. Shego could not help smiling softly to herself.

"You better not bite me in your sleep," Shego halfheartedly warned the immortal. It was not something that she ever honestly worried about, but she liked having something to say when they seemed to be getting close to a truly tender and downright cute moment.

Once Kim settled, Shego's eyes wandered from the vampire to around the room. She looked at the piles of books and files stacked in every corner. She had read it all, been through it all, at least a hundred times each. She was not going to stop anytime soon, though. She was going to keep her word and she was going to make sure Kim got what she deserved, a normal life.

"You've got people to get back to, Princess. I'll get you to them, just like I've said before," the older woman vowed.

One of the reasons Shego still worked so hard on studying folklore and finding a cure for Kim was because she did not want the redhead to lose everyone that ever cared about her. She knew there were still people out there waiting for Kim and Kim was waiting for them. She was not going to let them miss their chance, even if it meant that she might lose Kim. After all, Kim would not longer be a prisoner with her if she was cured of her curse.

Shego looked down at the sleeping vampire again. Her eyes seemed to be mixed with two emotions, sorrow and fondness. "You wouldn't just leave me like that, would you?" she said to the air in a hopeful voice. She doubted that Kim would just leave her, but they would be parted anyway because she would still be a GJ prisoner. No matter what she believed that she would end up alone.

The thought of being alone swirled in Shego's stomach, settling in a pit and trying to grow out every time she considered what might happen when she cured her little vampire princess. The feeling always tried to roar into a full blown storm in her body, but she refused to allow that to happen. She quelled her own emotions and just reminded herself how much she cared about Kim and how she wanted the best for the redhead. She knew that Kim would feel the same if their roles were reversed. It was only the ability to force the feeling away that saved Shego from falling into an abyss of melancholy that would have consumed her like monstrous beast.

One of them was going to end up alone anyway; Shego resigned herself to that long ago. If she cured Kim, the redhead would have to leave her. After all, GJ was only keeping Kim because she was a vampire. They would have no need or right to hold her when she was human again.

If she did not cure Kim, then the vampire was going to live forever. Shego was not sure how her body aged thanks to that meteor strike years ago, but she doubted than damned rock granted immortality when it was passing out superpowers and new skin pigments. She felt like Kim's eternity alone was far worse than her lifetime of loneliness, so she figured that gave Kim's crisis more priority.

"How dare you make me care so much about you," Shego muttered as a joke, even though caring so much made her ache and agonize whenever she realized that one day she was going to be without Kim.

The raven-haired thief knew that she did everything to herself. She was the one that went out of her way to find Kim, she was the one that brought Kim to GJ, and she was the one that decided stick close to Kim to keep the vampire out of trouble. She had done it all to herself and if given the chance, she would do it all again.

Shego smiled again. "I probably felt this way even back then and didn't realize it…Nah," she said and shook that off. She knew that she did not feel any deep emotions toward Kim like she did now back then. But, no matter what, she did know that she would do everything that she did for Kim all over again if she had to.

Shego would do it all again now and she would probably do it much faster. Before Kim was just a source of entertainment for her, but now, Kim was something that she could not even describe. Kim was more than a friend to her, more than a lover, more than a mate, hell even more than a soul mate. She did not know what Kim was to her. Their relationship was beyond words, gestures, and anything else that people used to communicate.

They were all that they had. They knew that they could trust each other no matter what. They were the only ones in the world that understood each other, although they seemed to understand different things about themselves. They were the only ones on the planet capable of reminding the other that they were still human. Shego kept Kim from believing that being a vampire made her a monster and Kim kept Shego from thinking that she needed to be closed off from everyone. It was a tough job for both of them, but they were there for each other no matter what, which was why Shego was cuddling Kim at the moment, and loving every second of it.

They had actually gotten so dependent on each other that they really could not imagine being apart. Sure, Shego could think about, even for a few moments, how she would end up alone when she cured Kim, but she could not go any further than that. She could not picture her life without Kim now.

Kim did not even think about life without Shego. To her, in her mind and soul, that did not even seem to be in the cards. Sure, she believed that she would be cured, but her thinking did not go further than that. Life without Shego to her, hell, that was like telling her to think of life without her right arm. It just did not happen.

They would possibly crumble for a while if they were separated. Not knowing up from down or how life could even go on. But, they were Shego and Kim Possible and falling apart never lasted long with them…or at least it turned into some dangerous fury quickly. Most people would probably pity someone that tried to separate Kim and Shego; and it had happened before. It was not a pretty sight.

It was definitely safer to just leave Kim and Shego to their own devices, like their snuggling at the moment. They were both quite content with the warm contact. It felt as if their souls were caressing each other, comforting and loving each other.

The duo had done more than cuddling. Hey, they had been together for six years now, with only each other. Perhaps, it started out as just a physical need, but by now it transcended the physical. It was something else that was could not be described with any form of communication, but they both knew that it was totally fulfilling on every level imaginable and many that were not imaginable.

Their sexual relationship had started off rather awkwardly, seeming almost accidentally. Shego just doubted that it was a total accident because of Kim's enhanced senses. If anything, she would accept that it was Kim's subconscious that drove her to do something quite weird.

----(Flashback)

Kim wandered into Shego's room, being beckoned by tiny noises that her sensitive ears were picking up. There was a strange, but spicy aroma that seemed to originate from Shego's quarters too and despite the fact that Kim only feasted on blood now, she licked her lips as the smell hit her nose. The fragrance seemed so delicious that Kim could almost taste it on the tip of her tongue, so she followed her nose, wanting some.

The vampire found the door locked. Shego's door being locked was not something new. She often locked her door when she did not wish to be disturbed while she was doing her research. Kim simply ignored the unspoken command that the lock door presented; the command being "go away." Her curiosity was sparked and it needed to be satisfied, which meant she needed to go into Shego's room.

"Nice try, but no cigar," the vampire commented in her head.

The redhead brazenly used her powers to get passed the locked door, becoming mist to seep through the space between the door and the floor. She found it to be a tighter fit than usual since Shego put a towel down to block that area. It seemed that she was intent on keeping her blood-drinking roommate out for once. Kim did not mind that she easily found a small space to fit through.

Kim materialized on the inside of the door and almost did not know what she was looking at when her eyes fell on Shego. Her eyes had to try very hard to stay in her head from the sight when she figured out just what she was looking at. The raven-haired woman was sprawled out on her bed, her head buried in her pillow to muffle the noises coming from her mouth and with good reason.

Shego was on the bed totally naked, apparently trying to work out some personal frustrations. She had one hand fondling her own breast and the other was buried below her waist. She was facing the wall instead of the door, so she did not see Kim and her usually sharp senses were too focused on her current task than trying to pick up on the fact that she was not alone.

Kim just stared for an undetermined amount of time, not being caught and totally enthralled. Her mouth hung open slightly and drool threatened to spill from her lips whenever she heard her roommate moan. Her eyes did not blink as they roamed Shego's glistening form, which had worked up a sweat from the activities. Her hand reached out, but her feet did not move yet.

"Amazing…" Kim thought with her eyes still glued on her lovely roommate.

A voice in her head was telling her that she was doing something wrong. She needed to get out of there and stop intruding in on Shego's private moment. She could not find it in herself to listen to that voice. Hell, her body probably would not have obeyed her if she did want to listen to it. Something deeper, more powerful had over come her. Instead of leaving, Kim stepped further into the room.

The noises continued to assault the vampire's ears, calling her closer to the source. Shego's moans filled her ears and sounded louder to her than if a helicopter was in the room with them. There was something just enchanting about the sounds and Kim wanted to discover why it was like a siren's call to her.

The vampire shamelessly marched to the edge of the bed, getting a much better look at her roommate's most intimate parts. From her new position, she was practically hammered in the face by the scent that haunted the halls of the apartment. Her breath hitched in her chest as she took in the heavenly musk while focusing her eyes to stay open to take in the sight. She located the origins of the smell, dew that was washed over Shego's working hand. Kim began leaning closer without even realizing it.

"Kimmie!" Shego shrieked and jerked as she noticed the vampire at the foot of the bed.

Kim jumped back when she heard her name called. She then looked up at Shego, green met green. Now, they both knew that they should be embarrassed, but they had other options and they went with those. Shego settled on being furious while Kim had little choice in remaining intrigued.

"Princess, what the fuck have I told you about sneaking into my room!" Shego bellowed while quickly covering herself with her blanket.

"Don't do that," Kim pled in a heady tone, her mouth working without any permission from her brain. In fact, her brain had checked out the moment that she sneaked into the room; it did not want any part of the trouble that she was about to get into. She then boldly stepped closer to the bed.

"Kim, get out!" Shego ordered harshly, her face distorting as she spoke thanks to her anger. Damn it, she was just looking for some privacy to take care of some rather natural business and Kim had ruined that. Damn, hardheaded, non-listening vampire brat!

"No," the redhead said simply with surprising firmness. She settled onto the foot of the bed and ripped away the cover that hid Shego's nude form from her.

"Hey!" Shego hollered indignantly. Her eyes shone with fury, but underneath it all, she was confused as hell. How was she supposed to react to Kim wanting to see her naked? She then got more perplexed as Kim leaned down, closer to her core. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?!"

"You smell good, makes me hungry," Kim replied, licking her top lip as if she planned on feasting right there. Her eyes seemed clouded over, as if she was intoxicated. It was a look similar to one that she got when she caught the scent of fresh blood from Shego and she was exceptionally hungry. Her current look was foggier than the other, though.

"You better not bite me down there!" Shego figured that she might have to kick the vampire in the head if she even thought about biting her there. It was bad enough that Kim had interrupted her, but now she was going on about being hungry while eyeing an area she damn sure was not allowed to touch.

"I don't want to bite you. I want to drink you," the redhead stated as if it was obvious.

"Kimmie, if you put a fang near anything down there, you're not going to live long enough to regret it," the raven-haired woman retorted with a growl.

"No, that's not what I mean. I want you."

"You want me? Since when? You're straight as an arrow, Princess," the former villainess reminded her roommate.

Kim shook her head, as if she was disagreeing with that assessment, even though as far as she knew, Shego was damn right. She could not explain it. All she knew was that she wanted Shego and she wanted her now. The urge was only getting stronger as she breathed in that powerful aroma coming from Shego, even though the green-skinned woman had stopped being aroused a long time ago. She leaned in closer and now Shego could feel warmth breath tickling her skin.

"I've got to try this," Kim muttered and her tongue snaked out of her mouth under its own accord.

Shego was about to yell at Kim some more, all around annoyed with the vampire's strange behavior. Her words were halted in her throat as she felt Kim's tongue on her. She was not sure what had come over the slender redhead, but at the moment, she did not care as long as Kim did not stop. It was that night that Shego discovered an interesting fact about Kim; the redhead had a long tongue, a long, enthusiastic, curious tongue. Shego practically became a puddle for the vampire that night and could not yell at the redhead for over a week.

----(End of flashback)

Thinking about that first night of sexual activity caused Shego to shift a bit, trying to quell down any rising arousal. She would end up disturbing Kim's rest if she could not squash the feeling. Kim's predatory senses were so good that she practically smell Shego's mood changes from yards away without looking at the older woman. Kim did move against her, which alarmed Shego.

"Uh, think about something else, something not sexy. Betty in a bikini," Shego said to herself and that pretty much put out any fire that was trying to rise in her system. While her tastes in finding people attractive had always been a bit wide, she would never think that of Doctor Director. There was no way in hell that she would ever think of the woman that arrested her, was keeping her and Kim prisoner, and seemed to think that they were both science projects as sexy.

With that crisis averted, Shego breathed a sigh of relief. To avoid any other mistakes, she figured that she might go back to looking at the file she had before Kim made her sudden appearance. Instead, she glanced down at Kim and started thinking about that first night again. She guessed that it all happened because Kim's hormones got the better of her after her other senses made her curious. After all, Kim's body was still seventeen years old and it unfortunately would always be that way. Her hormones lucked out though; Shego was not against returning the favor when it came to sex.

Coupling with them had started out as an activity to relieve frustration or boredom when they got more comfortable with doing it. But, like everything with them, it grew deeper with time. Now, there was affection, love, and need connected with the act each and every time that they did it. And they did it often because, well, Kim was stuck in a seventeen year old body. There also seemed to be something more to Kim's appetite, but Shego was not sure what it was. She was leaning toward it being that Kim was a vampire, but she could not say that for sure. Something just made Kim crave sex often.

Shego shook those thoughts away because she really did not want Kim to wake up. She had things to focus on and Kim needed the sleep considering the mission that they had last night. So, she turned her attention back to the file that she had been looking at.

"If this is right, it might just be time to get the hell out of here," Shego commented to herself.

She yawned suddenly, which reminded her that she was going to sleep before. She closed the file and placed it on her nightstand. She turned out her lights using the remote that closed her blinds. She then snuggled into Kim, pulling the covers up to her chin while shutting her eyes and thinking about the future.

They were going to be away from GJ soon enough and if everything went well, she would be able to cure Kim. She was not sure what would happen after she did cure Kim, but she was going to worry about that later on. All she wanted to do was keep her promise to the redhead now and return the younger woman to real life, not the plain, dreary existence they shared right now, not that Kim complained about their existence.

Shego knew that Kim was a "glass half full" kind of girl and she guessed that was why Kim's complaints had tapered off over the years. She could see in Kim's eyes though that she longed for things to be normal again. Kim wanted to be human again, even if she had come to grips with being a vampire. She wanted to be able to see her family again, even though it might mean that she would have to leave Shego behind. She wanted to be friends with Ron again, even though he moved on with his life to a degree. She wanted those things and Shego wanted to be the one to deliver them. It would mean that she able to keep her word and do one thing right for someone that she cared about.

--------------

Kim woke up around noon. She found herself resting on her arm awkwardly and had to shift her position a bit to get comfortable again. She yawned as she settled back into Shego's body. She glanced up at Shego, just to watch the older woman sleep for a moment.

She smiled to herself; it was rare that she got to watch such a peaceful sight as Shego sleeping. It was nice to see the pale woman not running herself ragged with trying to find a cure for vampirism or fretting about GJ missions. Shego was a more stressful creature than Kim would have given her credit for six years ago and she blamed herself for that.

She knew that Shego was a slacker for the most part, but the felon was now so hell-bent on helping her that she tended to work herself almost to death over things. Kim was flattered by the effort, but also tried to make Shego slow down some. It was not that she did not want to be human again, but she did not want Shego to die trying to find a cure for her.

"I don't want anything to happen to you. I don't know what I'd do without you," Kim whispered.

She quickly shook that thought away. She hated thinking about Shego possibly dying. Not only would she feel like it was her fault since Shego had been put in the situation thanks to her, but she would also be alone after that. The thought of being alone frightened her more than anything else, especially since she believed that Shego was the one thing in her life that kept her sane now. Without Shego, she was certain that she would turn into a monster.

Kim still felt the tug of being a predator underneath the surface. Her inner demon, as she looked at it, even came out sometimes. Shego was the one that calmed her down when such things happened and kept her from doing anything that she might regret later. She especially hated when she started looking at humans as something lesser than she was, therefore undeserving of any sort of feeling from her. Shego's presence alone made her stop feeling that way seconds only after it burst to the surface. Shego was her peace and her humanity.

"You keep me balanced," the redhead said to Shego and she placed a soft, small kiss to Shego's chin.

She cuddled closer to the sleeping green-skinned woman. Shego was her saving grace. It amazed her most of the time when she thought about it, but she accepted it quite happily. She liked being around Shego and she liked to think that it would last as long as they both lived. She tried never to think that she was probably going to outlive Shego by centuries if she stayed a vampire. She often did not even consider that she would remain a vampire. She had faith in Shego to find a cure.

She supposed that her faith had grown out of the fact that Shego was the one person sticking it all out with her. Shego was the person that saved her and the first person that she remembered after all of the torment that Adrian put her through. Shego was like her superman at first, but now Shego was her friend and lover and she just trusted the green-skinned woman with every fiber of her being.

"Thanks," Kim whispered to the older female, even though she was sleeping. It was not the first time that she thanked Shego and she knew that it was not going to be the last time. She was sure that she would be able to make it through anything as long as Shego was still in her life.

Shego probably would have been more than surprised to know that she was the reason that Kim was always so optimistic now. She would have been even more surprised to know that she was the light in someone's life, especially Kim's life. She sort of sensed it, but to know would have knocked her for a loop and one day Kim planned on telling her. The redhead knew that it would just light Shego up and she was looking forward to doing that.

With that in mind, Kim fell back to sleep with a smile on her face. She cuddled into Shego's neck while making sure that she was still covered completely with the blanket. She sighed contently in her sleep, feeling as she sounded quite often.

--------------

"Come on, Princess, get up," Shego said as she slapped the redhead rather hard on the rear-end.

Kim snorted in her sleep while swatting at the older female. She was not ready to get up if her "cheery" demeanor meant anything. Shego frowned and hit her again. The redhead yelped and turned so that her butt was not facing her roommate anymore.

"Pumpkin, get your lazy ass up," Shego huffed, hitting the vamp again, smacking her thigh now.

"I don't wanna go out tonight," Kim muttered in her sleep, whining slightly.

Shego sighed and rolled her eyes. Every now and then, Kim did just get into her sleep to the point that she did not want to wake up. It often happened when she stayed up with the sun out, like she did earlier.

"Fine, she wants to do this the hard way, then we do it the hard way." Shego cracked her knuckles, raised her hand as if she was about to do a claw strike, and slashed down on her wrist. She hissed in pain while Kim shot up at the scent of fresh, sweet blood.

"What're you doing?" Kim asked curiously as she gently took Shego's wounded arm in her hand.

"Self-mutilation. It's all the rage I hear," Shego replied sarcastically as the vampire ran her warm tongue along the open cut.

Kim chuckled a bit while continuing to take in the flowing dark liquid. Shego stared down at her, recalling the first awkward time that she fed the vampire. To say back then that Kim had been frail would have been an understatement; skeletons seemed to have more weight and color to them than Kim back then. She certainly did not have that problem now and never would if her roommate had anything to say about it. She stopped after a while, knowing when Shego had given her limit by now. Once Kim was done, Shego went to put a bandage on her wound.

"So, we got another mission or something?" Kim asked curiously while stretching now that she was on her feet.

"Of course we have another mission. After all, GJ thinks we're their work horses," Shego remarked as she exited her bedroom. She walked out to the living room, being followed by her roommate.

Kim wished that she could argue with that, but much of the time, she did feel like she was GJ's attack dog. Doctor Director sent them on missions that tended to involve secret assaults for the most part, which Shego did not mind much. At least she got to do some fighting, but Kim was bothered by it quite a bit. They both felt used, but Kim felt like she was also being stereotyped because she was a vampire. She could be sent on missions that did not involve fighting. She did not love bloodshed just because she drank blood.

"Here's the briefing. Read it and get dressed," Shego ordered while handing Kim a folder that was on the kitchen counter.

Kim nodded and took the folder while turning around to go put on her mission clothing. She went into her room and read through the papers while jumping into her pants and shirt. She was allowed to wear her usual mission clothes, which had not changed over the years while Shego was forced to wear a GJ uniform.

Shego sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. She looked down at the dreary blue uniform covering her and chuckled a bit. At that point, she figured that all she could do was laugh.

"Well, I'll really be getting the last laugh soon enough," Shego remarked to herself, smirking a bit. It was about time that something went her way, she thought. It felt good to know that she was going to be sticking it to GJ soon enough.

Kim trotted back out, having finished both getting dressed and reading the briefing. They exited the apartment the hard way; well, it was the hard way by most. It was the easy way to them as it involved not having to wait for the elevator; they jumped out of the windows in the living room. They freefell for most of the stories until Kim decided that it was time to fly. She took Shego by the hand and they took off out of the city.

"Kimmie, set it down there," Shego commanded the vampire while pointing to an open field.

"There? But, we've got a long way to go and we need to make it there sometime soon," the redhead pointed out.

"Kimmie, just set us down there," Shego ordered in a tone that said she did not want to be argued with.

The vampire eased them down to the ground, landing in an empty, dark meadow. "So, what's going on? What're we doing here?" the petite hero inquired.

"We're not doing this mission. We're not doing this bullshit for GJ anymore," Shego stated as if that was something normal. It was something that they had planned out since they got stuck in their situation, but still the way that she talking about it made things seem like it was something they discussed everyday.

"What do you mean?" Kim was as confused as she sounded; her face scrunched up with her eyebrow curled upward. What they did for GJ was not just a job that they could quit, so they could not just one day decide that they were not going to do it anymore. Besides, she did not halfway mind what they did because it left her being a hero in some capacity.

"Look, Kimmie, I know I said we'd stick with GJ and everything while they tried to find a cure for you, but there's no way in hell I'm sticking around anymore. They're not serious about finding a cure. At least, they're not as serious as I am. So, fuck them," Shego said soundly.

"But, where're we going? They're going to look for us. They're not going to just let us go. I mean, I'm a vampire and you're, well, Shego. We can't just get away like that," Kim argued.

Shego scoffed. "You know, for once I find myself missing your annoying optimism. You don't have faith in me?" she asked with a teasing smirk.

Kim stammered while making an incredulous face. "Of course I do!"

Shego chuckled; she loved making fun of Kim, even now. "Well then, shut up and come on. We need to make it as far as we can before the sun comes up."

Kim nodded a bit, but her face did not show agreement. "What about the mission?" she asked.

"Fuck the mission. We don't have much time, princess. We've got to go now or do you want to hang around GJ for the rest of your life being a little pet rat for them?" the older woman demanded to know.

The redhead bristled at that thought. A lifetime of physical exams, blood tests, horrid whispers, and dreaded looks as if wondering when she was going to snap and eat them all? No thank you, she decided.

"Where're we going then?" Kim asked curiously.

"Just trust me on this, Kimmie."

Kim nodded, agreeing now without hesitating. Shego smiled a bit; she felt good knowing that Kim trusted her enough to not even need to know where they were going or how they were going to get away from a global intelligence gathering organization. Now, they just had to make sure that they got away, getting a good head start before Global Justice realized that they were gone.

"Okay, Kimmie, you need to step away," Shego instructed, shooing the younger female away with a flick of her hand.

"Why?" the vampire asked curiously.

"Because I'm not sure if I'm bugged or not and I wanna get rid of it if I am, meaning I need to flare up as much as possible. Do you want to be burnt to a crisp?" Shego inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Kim gulped and quickly backed away from Shego, leaving almost five yards between them. The vampire knew just how dangerous Shego's powers were to her, remembering what her hands did to Adrian and seeing what they had done to other vampires since then. The young immortal shook her head, hoping to expel thoughts that had not even entered her head yet. She did not want to remember Adrian or what Shego's powers could do to someone like her.

Shego was not paying the bloodsucker much mind as she forced her body temperature up as much as possible. She figured that she would have boiled any device that GJ must have planted on her. She also took the time to crush her communication link to GJ. It was about time that she was done with those jackasses.

"Kimmie, make sure you get rid of that stupid transmitter," Shego warned the redhead when she was done crushing and burning her own.

"Oh, right," Kim said since she knew that the communicator could be traced. She was not worried about being bugged because GJ knew that it was pointless to put a chip into someone that could become intangible at will. The second that she turned to mist, she would lose the bug and she used that power quite often.

The slender hero yanked her communication device from her ear and crushed it in her hand. With that done, the pair was gone and on the run. They knew that GJ would be looking for them, but they did not care about that. They had no plans on getting caught and now they were free. Well, they were free for now anyway.

--------------

Next time: Kim and Shego find themselves missed by GJ, who try to get the pair back. Will they succeed?


	2. Light

I don't own these characters. I don't own Mary Poppins. All are own by Disney if I'm not mistaken.

2: Light

Shego was standing outside of the airport. The place was covered in the darkness of the night, but was still rather busy. She was alone; Kim was waiting for her. She was also thankfully not recognized so far, but she was not sure how long that would last.

"I don't think this is going to work," Shego muttered to herself while shaking her head as she looked inside the airport. She was referring to the idea that her vampire companion had come up with after things did not go exactly the way that she had them worked out.

The green-skinned woman was skeptical on the plan that Kim came up with to get them out of the country after her piece of plan fell threw earlier. She was supposed to have a private jet waiting for them, but it would seem that her contact on the outside world was unable to pull that off and did not inform her in their last communication. Without the plane, she feared for a moment that she and Kim would have quite a short stint in freedom until Kim suggested the idea that she was going through with right now.

Kim suggested that Shego fly commercial. First she had to insist that it was not as bad it sounded. Kim hoped that Shego only had to do it once or she would be proved a liar. Shego would also be quite pissed if the vamp seemed to be telling anything less than the truth about flying commercial being comfortable, even though they needed to get as far as away as they could as quick as they could.

The redhead proposed flying commercial because she figured that no one would suspect Shego of hiding in plain sight. They just had to disguise her a little bit, which involved a haircut that Shego was not very much in favor of. The haircut had been easy enough with Kim using her sharp nails to go through Shego's hair, giving the brunette a shoulder length mane now with two strips of hair to frame her face. Her hair was done in a tight ponytail as she entered the airport.

They tried to cover her green skin up as much as possible with makeup, but they could not get a real flesh tone. She just ended up looking sickly, but they supposed that was all right. As long as she did not look like a fleeing felon, everything was fine by them.

Even though it was nighttime, Shego was alone. They knew that GJ would be looking for the two of them together since Doctor Director was well aware that they were inseparable now. Kim was waiting for Shego to inform her about what flight she was getting on and everything. They were using regular cell phones that Shego was able to buy earlier that day to speak with each other, trying to blend in as much as possible. Being as cautious as possible, the pair did not even refer to each other by name when they were on the phones.

So, Shego brought her plane ticket and then called Kim to let her know what plane she would be on. She checked her "luggage," which was a giant black duffle bag. It could surprisingly enough fit a small body in it, but she only had it stuffed with pillows and a blanket. No one thought anything of it.

Shego then went to catch her flight, chatting with Kim along the way. They were rather casual while on the phone because they did not have to worry about the sun rising for another six hours and their escape seemed to be going smooth enough so far. They talked about nothing really. It was most Kim begging to know where they were going. Shego got a kick out not telling her and making her plead for information.

"C'mon, Sandy. This isn't fair. At least let me know how long I'll have to fly with the bags," Kim begged to know, speaking into her phone. She was using Shego's code name when she said "Sandy."

"I'm not telling you, so cut it out. You sound like a damn five-year-old," Shego replied, a taunting smirk on her face that Kim could pretty much hear in her voice. She was waiting in her seat, which was at the back of the plane, waiting for it to take off.

"You're acting like a five-year-old. Just tell me where we're going already. What's the big secret?" Kim huffed. From the sound of her voice, her older companion knew that she was scrunching up her face into a pout. It was not a full blown puppy-dog pout since those only worked in person.

"It's what we patient people call a surprise." She reclined in her seat, still smiling with the phone pressed to her ear.

"When the hell did you turn into a patient person?" the vampire inquired, quite serious in her question.

Shego rolled her eyes. "Never mind that. We're about to take off, so I've got to turn the phone off. Lemme know if you can't find the plane once we're in the air. And don't lie to me since I know when you're lying."

"Whatever. Later."

Shego disconnected the call; she was smiling to herself. She felt two different kinds of good at the moment. She felt good because she was free with Kim, which was new. And there was the now familiar good feeling of just being friends with Kim. The redhead was feeling the same way.

--------------

Kim ended up flying next to Shego's plane for a while. She wished that Shego had gotten a seat near a window, but no such luck on such short notice. She was kind of bored, even though she typically liked flying. One thing about being a vampire and getting used to it was that Kim found enjoyment in almost every one of her powers. She did have a couple of problems, although she would probably jokingly refer to them as "one and a half problems."

The major problem was not the blood-drinking oddly enough. Kim could make due with drinking blood now that she had gotten over believing that she was a monster. Sure, it had taken many pep talks from Shego to get her where she accepted her nature, but she was there now. She did have some trouble with the fact that every now and then she stopped seeing people as people and saw lunch, but she was usually able to get out of that mindset once she realized what she was thinking.

Shego's voice was also something that got her to stop seeing people as lower life forms. She never pictured Shego in such a way, so she never worried about one day devouring Shego…in a bad way. She did not even think that one day she would take more blood than her companion was able to give. She knew just how to behave with Shego.

So, being a blood-sucker was more half-a-problem to Kim than anything else. It would probably be less than that if she added in the fact that she enjoyed feeding from Shego. There was quite the deep connection that they both experienced when she fed from the green-skinned woman. They had both thought long and hard on that connection.

There was just something about Shego giving her what she needed to live that touched Kim in a way that she would never be able to describe, even in her eternal life. For Shego, there was something about not only how she was so open and willing to give Kim her life-force for the vampire to survive, but the fact that Kim accepted. The once super-independent hero was dependent on Shego and did not seem to mind, which struck a cord in the green-skinned female. She was not sure why it struck a cord in her and she did not even question it anymore. She was just glad to have Kim, just like Kim was glad to have her.

There was also, of course, that Shego's blood tasted particularly good for whatever reason. It was practically perfect in every way; okay, Kim had recently watched Mary Poppins and that would explain that thought. Or so she hoped.

The major problem that Kim had with being a vampire was her weakness to the sun. It was not even that she was very partial to the sun, although she did miss it. She disliked her weakness mostly because of what it did to Shego.

Kim was well aware that Shego longed to be out in the sun again, but did not go out as often as she wanted to or stay up to see the sun as much because she wanted to keep Kim company. Shego was always so sweet to her, Kim thought…well, maybe sweet was not the right word when talking about Shego and her behavior toward the vampire. But, the point was that Shego sacrificed a lot for her and she wished that there was someway to pay Shego back; little did she know, but their in-depth relationship did more for Shego than any material good ever could or would.

Shego actually did not even know how much her connection with Kim affected her. She would rather stay in denial about it, wanting to believe that she was still the same person that she had been almost seven years ago. After all, time had stopped for both of them almost seven years ago, so they both liked to think they were relatively the same. They failed to take into account that in the past, they were not the only true company that they had over years for most of each and every day.

The time was not very obvious to them, especially since Kim did not age at all anymore. Shego aged, but it was not at the same rate as regular people. She suspected that the comet that gave her the plasma and made her tougher than most humans also made her age slower. She noticed it with her brothers, especially since the twins were older than they looked. Surprisingly enough, Kim could see where Shego aged, but she did not bring it up.

Kim could see faint traces of where lines would appear on Shego's face years down the line; maybe fifteen years, she often guessed. She did not focus on such things, though. She knew that if she thought about Shego aging, she would just think about how she was going to be seventeen for as long as she lived. There were never going to be faint traces or lines on her face. There would never be the mysterious gray hair, which she also guessed that Shego would have in about fifteen years if she kept stressing the way that she did. She would never experience any of that and also if she thought about Shego aging too hard, she would come to thinking about Shego dying. That was definitely a taboo subject.

Shego was the light of her dark world, after all. The older woman was her sun. She wished that she could be the same for Shego, but the former sidekick seemed to crave the actual star.

She actually wanted to go out in the sun as much as Shego, maybe more. At least Shego could go out. She could not even glance at the sun without burning. Hell, she could barely take looking at the sun on the television without an irrational fear charging through her like heavy voltage. She could not wait to be cured; she was just going to bask in the sun with Shego for as long as possible.

"Cured…" Kim muttered almost dreamily as she tried to keep up with the plane.

She hoped that the cure was coming soon. She guessed that Shego had some vital lead on a cure because she had taken them away from Global Justice. Despite all of her talk while they were prisoners about getting away, Shego never seemed to be in much of a hurry to do so. The raven-haired woman always seemed hesitant because she never had anything solid to count on as cure for Kim, but now she had been in a hurry to leave.

"Something's up. I wonder what she's got," Kim thought.

The vampire yawned a bit, getting sleepy. It took a lot out of her to even try to keep up with the plane. She ended up parking herself on top of the plane to conserve her energy. Even then, she eventually vanished from there, going to get some sleep. The sun would be up in a couple of hours anyway.

--------------

Global Justice was on high alert and the agents were working overtime with one specific goal of finding two fugitives. Everyone seemed frantic, even and especially the scientists. The scientists were pretty much missing a pet, after all.

The whole agency was aware the two most dangerous women in the world were now on the loose. Well, potentially dangerous anyway, Doctor Director conceded mentally. Outwardly, she was acting like the women's sudden disappearance was just about the worst crisis that GJ had ever faced.

Her common sense told her that Kim was not likely to hurt anyone, despite the fact that the girl was a vampire. She had been a vampire for six years and not attacked anybody yet, but there was still the fact that Kim was a predator. She had seen the look in Kim's eyes every now and then, been on the business end of what happened when Kim stopped seeing humans and saw insignificant specks that were only good to her for a meal. It was unnerving to the point where the director was certain that a lesser person would wet her pants if she was the one the look was directed toward. She could not just allow something like Kim to roam free if it was in her power to bring the redhead in.

"Besides, I know that vampires are just predators. Kim's not the same person she used to be," the boss of Global Justice reminded herself as she sat at her desk, doing her own research to figure out where her wandering "agents" had gone. "Kim's a vampire and I know what vampires do now. She'll end up being just like that."

After Kim's run in with Adrian and coming to GJ, Betty had sent Kim and Shego after a few vampires that were terrorizing other places. So, GJ was no longer strangers to vampire behavior now. Vampires seemed to get some sick joy out of human suffering and she suspected without proper guidance, Kim would end up the same way. And the guidance that Kim had was not the best. Kim was out in the world with Shego, after all.

Sure, the super-powered woman had been behaving herself for the passed six years, but that was more than likely because she was under the careful watch of GJ. Out in the world, Shego was an amoral hedonist and seemed to have some love for anarchy; never mind the fact that she was also lazy at heart. Who knew what she might do now that she was out and had a powerful companion in Kim, who would do practically anything to please Shego. They could quite possibly try to take over the world on their own if the urge over took them.

"I won't let that happen. We will find them," Betty Director silently vowed to herself. There had to be some way for her to find them before something happened.

--------------

Shego was walking down the street, trying her best to keep a low profile. She looked like an ordinary tourist for the most part, all the way down to her large shoulder bag. It would be easy to mistake her for a backpacker. She doubted that a backpacker ever had to carry as much weight as she did, though.

"Kimmie, you weigh a hell of a lot for a person that doesn't eat solid food anymore," Shego grumbled and waited for a response. When one did not come, she knew that her nocturnal partner had fallen asleep yet again.

Kim was in the bag that Shego was carrying. It was to protect her from the sun and it was doing quite the grand job. She had been in and out of sleep since leaving the airport, where Shego had picked her up on the luggage carousel. From there, Shego carried her out into the world and figured that by the time she was ready to come out of the bag for the night, they would be at their destination. She was not wrong.

"Shego," Kim called from inside of the bag. Her dignity was stinging quite a bit from the way that she had to make the journey for the most part; being inside of a duffle bag, flying with the suitcases when the sun came up, and being carried around like sack of potatoes was not very becoming from a hero in her opinion.

"Oh, you're finally up," Shego commented in a slightly surprised tone. Her dignity was not fairing too much better considering the fact that she was carrying her main companion around like she was a pack mule. Thankfully that was going to come to an end right now.

"Can I get out?" the redhead inquired curiously. She hoped that she could. She was folded an awkward position and it was more than a little cramped in the bag. She had surprisingly lost the feeling in her legs.

"Hell, yeah, you can get out. It's killing my back carrying you around," the green-skinned woman teased, smirking as she spoke.

The vampire mumbled something that Shego could not understand. Shego put the bag down and unzipped it. Kim practically sprang out like a jack-in-the-box, coughing as she emerged. The redhead sucked in as much air as she could, trying to replace all of the stale oxygen that she had inhaled while trapped in that bag. She was doing that more out of a memory of when she was human and needed oxygen than anything else. Once she was done with that, she took a look around.

"Where are we?" Kim asked in a curious tone. She had eyebrow arched and her mouth turned up.

They seemed to be in some place that was totally alien to her. It looked like they were in a house, but a house that was obviously in a cave. There were regular rooms, but there were places that she could see rocks. The ceiling itself was high and completely stone with some stalactites. There were a few stalagmites around the place too.

"We're home," Shego answered while rolling her neck and shoulders. She was so glad to be able to put Kim down. She looked around the place; she thought that it would have been more complete than it was. She should not be looking at stone anything, in her opinion.

"Home?" Kim echoed in a puzzled tone and expression to match. She hoped that the whole surprise of everything was going to come to an end now.

"This is home. I pulled a few strings and had it built for us," the raven-haired female explained, trying her best to make it sound unimportant. Kimmie was prone to getting emotional and Shego would rather pretend that she did not want that to happen right now.

"But…I don't understand…" Kim admitted, still as perplexed as ever. She was utterly confused. Shego had a place built for them? As in, Shego managed to build some place for them to go when they finally did run away from Global Justice? Had she really thought that far ahead? How far ahead did Shego actually think?

"What's not to get? This is our home now. We need some place that we can lay low until GJ isn't looking for us like the prize in a fox hunt. So, this is our place," Shego replied while motioning around their new home. It was a house that she had built into a deep cavern. She was certain that no one would ever find it, mostly because the cave was not known to exist. She found by accident some years ago and the only people that knew about were quite discreet.

Kim nodded, showing that she understood for the most part. "Um…what're we going to do about stuff? I mean, this place has hot water and junk like that?"

"This place has everything we could ever need to avoid going out of minds with boredom. We've got everything you could think of," the older woman tried to assure her companion. Hey, it was not like she was about to spend an undetermined amount of time in some hole in the ground without as many luxuries as she could afford. If she wanted to rough it, she would have stayed a prisoner with Global Justice.

"Blood?" Kim asked immediately.

"Lemme guess, the lil vampy is hungry," Shego teased, reaching out and rubbing Kim's belly. The immortal giggled a bit and pulled away from her companion.

"Well…it takes a lot of energy to fly next to a plane," the redhead grumbled with her mouth turned upward, not enjoying being made fun of just because she was hungry.

"Nobody told you to fly with the plane. You had a perfectly good seat—" Shego was cut off.

"With the luggage! That's no way to fly!" Kim huffed, folding her arms across her chest.

"It was your idea," Shego pointed out with a shrug. She knew that the high and mighty vampire, who was slightly snobbish when she was human anyway, would be incensed riding with the baggage for their trip, not to mention being baggage during the trip.

Kim pouted, unable to argue anything further. After all, it was her idea. She did not want to be seen on the same flight with Shego just in case. They knew that GJ would be looking for both of them to be together and not just one of them on their own, so a single woman would not get much attention. Shego was that single woman since Kim would not move around on her in the day. The bag seemed like a way for Shego to keep her safe during the same, but it was no way to travel.

"So, blood?" the vampire asked again for lack of a retort.

Shego rolled her eyes. "Check the fridge."

Kim was incredulous that there was actually blood waiting for her in the refrigerator, even though she doubted that it was something that Shego would joke about, especially knowing that she was hungry. She went off into the kitchen, which was directly in front of her. There was a countertop that cut the kitchen off from the rest of the place and the floor was tiled white, which Kim thought was a little weird, but figured that Shego might not have chosen the decor. She went right to the refrigerator and was surprised to find blood just waiting for her. Fresh blood if her nose was telling her anything. The crimson liquid was there in a couple of bags.

"Shego, where'd we get this blood from?" Kim asked curiously. She was a bit nervous to hear the answer. It was not that she thought that someone had gone out and killed a bunch of people before her arrival and put the blood in bags for her, but she was not too sure what she should think of it.

"There used to be an orphanage on this site," Shego remarked rather seriously with a deadpan expression.

"I'm serious!" Kim complained, frowning and wrinkling her brow in the process.

Shego frowned a bit too now. "Fine, a little while ago, I made friends with people at various blood banks, just for when this moment comes. Princess, I told you, I'm going to take care of you, so don't think I'm just going to take you out from GJ without getting you the proper food that you need."

Kim now felt like quite the heel for calling Shego into question. She looked down at her feet in shame for a moment. "…Sorry."

Shego scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

The redhead laughed a bit, knowing that her cohort was just trying to downplay everything. She grabbed one of the bags of blood from the fridge and then went over to Shego. She embraced the older woman for no real reason, but Shego was not about to turn the affection away.

"There is one thing about the blood," Shego said after a few silent seconds.

"What?" Kim asked curiously.

"It only comes once every two weeks."

"So?" Kim inquired. Sure, she ate more often than once every two weeks, but she did not see why that should be a problem…unless… "You don't want me drinking from you anymore?" she asked with a confused, almost horrified look on her face. It was like she had just been told the worst possible news.

"Don't ask stupid questions, Kimmie. Just eat your food and shut up while I show you around," the green-skinned woman replied harshly.

Kim did not argue and opened up her meal while releasing Shego. The older woman did take Kim by the hand and pulled her through their rather lavish home. Shego was glad to see that most of things that she wanted in the house had made it, even if there were still rocks and things showing from the cave. They had a small library, but there was no internet. They had books to keep them entertained when the television would not be enough.

There was a huge entertainment center in their living room, including a wall-mounted television. There was a large sofa, even though they were not going to be having visitors. And best of all, there was a vast collection of music, movies, and other things to keep them preoccupied. Kim could not wait to curl up on the couch with Shego to just veg out, which was going to end up being one of their pastimes while they waited for the heat to die out.

"So, how long do you think we'll have to stay in here?" Kim asked in a neutral tone. She really had no qualms with staying there as long as necessary. She did not think that it would turn into another prison since she and Shego would make their own decisions and would not have to be GJ attack dogs at night.

"I don't know. GJ and Director might be a bit persistent in trying to get us about. After all, we're both considered armed and dangerous. Not to mention they're waiting for you to eat someone," Shego remarked with a teasing smirk.

"I've been doing that for a while now," the redhead quipped with a lecherous smirk.

Shego laughed a bit, not at all surprised by Kim's vulgarity. "Yeah, well, they think you'll do it in a less than enjoyable way."

"And let's not forget lastly that we're their lost little lab rats," the blood-drinker added grimly.

"That too. So, let's give 'em a few months before we decide to show our faces around any place, just to be safe," Shego answered the original question.

Kim scoffed. "Safe," she spat out the word disdainfully.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. While I'm in charge of this whole 'escape thing' we're playing it safe. I said I'd take care of you, after all. I'm not going to have us acting as reckless as we have a habit of doing when it means we could end up stuck in some underground lab being used," the raven-haired woman countered in a forceful tone with a frown, folding her arms across her chest, showing that her word was final.

Kim could not argue that one and guessed that she had better just get used to being in their new home for now. She doubted that would be a problem considering the fact that she had Shego and her freedom; forty-eight hours ago, she could only attest to having one of those wonderful things. Besides, it was not like it was a bad place to live; as far as she could tell it was fairly modern and state-of-the-art, even though there were no computers.

"We're going to have to find something to do for all that time," Kim commented with a now very familiar glint in her eye and smirk on her face.

Shego's legs went weak just from the look. "Pumpkin, gimme a day to recover from the flight and I'm all yours," she promised, almost pleading. The escape had taken a lot of her energy.

"That's too long," Kim replied and she pounced on Shego right after she finished her meal, only to start on another one. Shego did not object despite the lack of energy; she was just guaranteed one hell of a sleep when Kim was done with her.

----(New day)

"No, there's still no word on Shego or Kim," Doctor Director reported in a business tone, speaking into her desk phone receiver. Her phone had not stopped ringing for weeks since those two disappeared off of the face of the Earth as far as she could tell. Some people were actually whispering things like they hoped the pair had died or something; those people knew just what Kim was. They were also the people that had been treating Kim like something less than what she was for the past few years, so they were nervous that she was out in the world.

Doctor Director listened to the person on the other end while rolling her eye. She then proceeded to massage her throbbing temple as the person on the other line screamed in her ear. To make matters worse, the person was hollering things that she had already heard a million times since the duo escaped.

"I am looking for them," Betty said through clenched teeth as the triad halted, waiting for her to add to the conversation. "Look, they're not your average, run-of-the-mill fugitives. No one was able to catch Shego before us," she pointed out in her organization's defense. To hell with adding in that Shego turned herself in.

Betty sighed heavily into the phone as a new assault on her ears began. She rested her elbow on the desk and then rested her whole face in the palm of her hand. She did wonder for just a brief moment if it would be possible for her to break her entire skull with one hand just to end the call. She let that thought go when she was surprised by sudden silence on the line; apparently, she was done being yelled at and the caller had the nerve to hang up on her.

"Bitch. See if I vote for her when she's running for president again," Betty commented in a grumble as she put her phone down.

As much as Betty liked to pretend that she had things well in hand, she was at a loss. Shego and Kim had actually dropped off the face of the Earth from what she could tell. She expected no less from them, but that was only if they were alone. She knew that they would never part, though, so she could not figure out how they were eluding her forces together.

"You'd think a fucking vampire and a green-skinned, super-powered psycho would stick out a bit," Betty muttered to the air.

She could not figure out how Shego and Kim were moving around when they could only move at night, lest Kim be killed. Where was Kim sleeping during the day? It was not like it was easy to get a coffin for the blood-sucker to sleep in. What was Kim eating? There were no reports of any strange deaths due to acute blood loss coming from any parts of the world. There were not even reports of attacks where the victim was bitten. There was nothing pointing to Kim being in any area and the same thing could be said of Shego.

No one had spotted an oddly colored-woman anywhere in the world. There were no major robberies with Shego's telltale signs. There were no attempts to break Drakken out of prison. There was nothing. It was like they vanished completely and totally.

"Sir, I think I have that information that you wanted," Agent Will Du said as he entered the large office of the director of Global Justice.

"Bring it in, agent," Director said in her usual crisp professional tone.

Will marched into the office and placed a file down on the boss' desk. She did not look at it and she did not say anything to her agent. Will knew to just leave the room and leave Director to decide on their next move, but he did not just leave. He had to speak before doing anything else.

"Sir, if you go through with this plan, I'd like to volunteer myself to go to bring in those criminals," the agent stated.

Director did not answer him and he finally took the hint to leave her office. She frowned when he was gone. He made it seem like he was going after someone that was not Kim Possible, someone who had not saved the world countless times, even after she became a monster. She tried not to think too much on it since finding Kim was more important than considering how easily people seemed to forget just who she was.

The one-eyed woman turned her attention to the file that was left for her. She opened it and found a list of people that she probably never would have thought existed six years ago. She was looking at a list of vampire hunters.

"Who would've thought there'd be so many," Betty mumbled to herself as she noticed the pile under the list, which were individual profiles of each hunter. "Well, let's get started," she said to herself as she began to read each and every profile to find out which one she wanted to bring in to assist in finding Kim and Shego. In her thinking, she figured that a professional hunter would be able to find Kim, but she had to choose carefully. It was not like she wanted to hire someone who was just downright insane or playing around. She needed someone to get the job done.

--------------

Shego was reclined in a lawn chair on the top of a rock, which was actually the roof of her home. It had a nice view of the clear land and mountains of the area, but she was not paying mind to any of that. She was sunbathing, nude.

There were no people around miles and miles, so Shego did not think that it was a big deal that she was lounging naked. Besides, Kim was not around to complain; the vampire was surprisingly possessive of Shego and hated if people looked at her in any sort of sexual way. And Kim could practically smell if someone was looking at her Shego with a lustful intent, no matter how innocent or brief the look might be. A jealous vampire was a scary thing.

"Hmm…" Shego hummed contently as she stretched out in her chair, loving the sun as it showered her in its warm light.

It felt so delicious and delightful to be out in the sun again. She had been spending a couple of hours in the sun every day since she and Kim had gotten settled in their new home. It helped keep her energy up for when she had to be around that sex-crazed vampire, not that she was going to complain about how much Kim desired her, especially since the feeling was mutual.

She smiled as she thought about how in a few months, she might be able to lounge in the sun with Kim. All she had to do was wait until some of the heat was off of them and then she would be able to go cure Kim. She would finally keep her word.

"What happens then, though?" Shego wondered, eyebrows curling up a bit as thoughts started invading her mind that she disliked.

What would happen when she finally got Kim the cure to her vampirism? Would she lose Kim? Would Kim try to go back to her old life, the one that lacked Shego? The super-powered woman knew just how she felt about that; she did not like it one little bit and she had no problem admitting that to herself. Kim had become very precious to her over the years, precious to the point that she did not want to give up the redhead just because Kim would be normal again.

"But, what am I supposed to do if she does want to be normal again? If she doesn't want to be with me anymore?" Shego wondered, her forehead creasing from worry.

The raven-haired fugitive had a feeling as to what would happen if Kim did not want her anymore. She would let her anger take control and she knew that her wrath would be quite foul considering how Kim was all she had in the world now. She was certain that she would fly into an insane rage, not wanting to be alone ever again now that she had had Kim with her for so long.

"Is that what I would do after all this time? Throw a big fucking temper tantrum like a kid losing a security blanket?" Shego wondered. Her mind answered, "Hell fucking yeah."

Shego shook that away. She would rather just not think about it if Kim left her. She was not too sure how she would react if that were to happen. But, still, her main priority was curing Kim, as she promised to do. Everything else could come after that.

The green-skinned woman decided to go inside at that moment. She had been in the sun long enough and now she figured that she should get some sleep. Besides, she should not risk someone seeing her, she mentally insisted.

She folded up her chair, taking it inside with her to not leave anything out of the ordinary outside. With that done, she walked down the long hallway and went into a bedroom, a bedroom that was not her own. She and Kim still had separate rooms despite their relationship because Shego acknowledged that she and Kim sometimes needed their space. Right now, space was the last thing that she wanted, though.

Shego walked into the dark room and passed by the pieces of rich, white furniture of the room; she really wished that she could have decorated the place to avoid having so much white around their home. She went right to the back wall, her feet being slightly tickled by the soft blush pink carpet covering the floor. She halted at the large, pearl-colored coffin.

She eased the top of the casket open slowly, trying her best to be as quiet as possible. She did not open it all the way either, but just enough for her to slide in. She slowly closed the lid back once she was inside. She had no worries about getting locked inside the new coffin, like she had the first time that she crawled into Kim's old one because the new casket was built quite similar to the old one, although it was much bigger.

Darkness blanketed the small enclosed area, but Shego knew where to find what she wanted. She reached over and pulled Kim away from the soft, velvet wall that she rested against and pressed the redhead to her nude form. Still sleeping, Kim snuggled into Shego's bare chest, whimpering a bit as she made herself comfortable against the hot body.

"Shego…" Kim muttered in her sleep, causing Shego to smile to herself.

"Yeah, I'd probably throw a big fucking temper tantrum if you left me, princess," Shego mentally conceded and then she noticed Kim opening her mouth while moving toward her neck. "Hey, don't bite me in here!" the older woman screamed loud enough to wake Kim up.

"Wha!" the vampire cried as she shot up and promptly smacked her head against her coffin lid. She crashed back down with a yelp and hissed while putting her hand to her now sore forehead.

Shego laughed. "Smooth move, Possible."

Kim grumbled something about Shego being an ass while still trying to rub the pain away from her head. She then tried to play off the fact that she had just banged her head and turned to cuddle back into Shego's body. She was about to fall back to sleep when something important seemed to just reach her brain.

"Shego…are you…naked?" Kim asked curiously, even though her hands were telling her the answer to that one. Sleep was starting to seem quite secondary to her now.

"As the day I was born," Shego remarked with a smirk. "But, go back to sleep. We'll worry about that later on," she added with a small yawn.

"But…you're naked," Kim said as if that was the most news she would ever hear. Her hormones were wide wake if nothing else in her body was. Being stuck at seventeen was going to drive her out of her mind one day, she considered.

"It's not the first time. Go back to sleep, Kimmie."

Kim whimpered, not wanting to do as Shego said. Her hands started to wander, but Shego pulled them away. She then cradled Kim to her, letting the vampire know that they were going to sleep and not doing something else. Kim whimpered again, rather against the idea of sleeping. Yet in the end, Shego won out and they were both asleep, cuddled up together in the casket. Kim would have her way later on, though.

----(New day)

"This is like a never ending headache," Betty commented to herself while staring down at a pile of paperwork. There was a weary look clouding over her onyx eye.

She was still looking for vampire hunters. She had gotten to the point of interviewing the people that she thought were worth a deeper look. Finding vampire hunters was almost as difficult as finding vampires. Getting a vampire hunter to come in for an interview was just as difficult as finding one. Hiring a vampire hunter that seemed to be competent enough to locate Kim and hopefully bring her in, well, so far that was impossible.

"Sir, we've got another one," a voice informed Betty through the intercom on her desk.

"Send him in," Betty replied, barely hiding how tired she was in her voice.

"Yes, sir."

Betty turned her attention to her front door while waiting for the next hunter to come in. She frowned, just thinking about how pointless the interview was probably going to go. She had met enough hunters to find them to be quite laughable now. She could not take any of them seriously as they seemed like an endless stream of clichés.

She was not impressed when the hunter came into the office, looking like every other hunter. He was a young man; she found the hunters ages varied quite a bit, but that still did not help her in taking them seriously. He was dressed in all black, which seemed to be the only color a hunter could wear from what she could tell. All black leather, which seemed to be the only material the hunters knew existed. He was a serious looking fellow, which was something else all of the hunters seemed to have in common, even though Betty thought them to be jokes when she was done with them.

The young man before her was named Lee; who knew if it was a first or last name since it was the only name given. She could remember seeing his file. There was not much information on him, just a birth certificate and some general information on him like his ethnicity, which was listed as Chinese. According to his profile, he was only twenty-five years old, but the profile had it listed that he had been hunting vampires for ten years.

"So, Lee, tell me why GJ should hire you for this mission?" Betty inquired, cutting straight to the point with the hope that sleep was in her future sometime that week.

Lee was silent, staring at Betty with cold, intense, odd ice blue eyes. His round jaw was shut tight and tense. His face was shadowed slightly from his hair, which was short and spiked, gelled to push forward. He had a menacing aura, burning off of him like a roaring fire. Betty could feel it under her skin, through her nerves, and down to her bones.

The leader of Global Justice had to fight the urge not to squirm in her seat while Lee continued to glare at her. There was something about the kid that was just crushing, adding to the pressure of the room. Betty almost felt like she might hyperventilate trying to get air from the space.

"You shouldn't," Lee finally said, answering her question as to why he should be hired. His voice was low and cold, much like the ninth circle of Hell, the director imagined.

Betty was taken aback by that response. "What?"

"You say there's vermin out there that you want caught, I'll catch it. You want to play around and act like this is a survey, I've got better things to do," he answered nonchalantly.

Lee was like a walking cliché to Betty by now. Every hunter that she had interviewed had that calm, collected act going on, acting as if they were too cool for the room. There was something different about Lee, though. Something intangible about him that set him apart.

"Well, there's vermin I want caught," Betty stated with a straight face, even though some part of her felt extremely low for referring to Kim as "vermin."

"Then we can talk," Lee replied smoothly. They continued on, both keeping their professional appearance.

----(New day)

Kim was lying on the sofa. Her hands were folded across her chest and her eyes were focused on a space on the rocky ceiling that looked just like any other spot. She was not really looking at it, but she did not have anything better to do.

"I'm going to go nuts!" Kim screamed in her head as her right eye started to twitch from boredom.

The vampire decided to change positions and roll over onto her stomach. Her eyes went from staring at a blank spot on the ceiling to staring at a blank spot on the wall. She huffed in annoyance as her eye twitched again.

"Come back, Shego. I want something to do," Kim whined in her head.

Shego was gone. She had gone out to find out if things were safe for her and blood-sucking companion. She had been checking around for the past few days to see what was going on in the outside world. Kim was hoping that tonight she would hear that it was safe for her to go with Shego and they could get on with having some sort of life. She also hoped that things were working toward her being cured somehow.

Kim suddenly leaped up from the sofa, her sensitive ears alerting her that her cohort was back. She watched eagerly as Shego entered their home. Shego's eyes fell on the vampire as soon as she went inside the place, knowing just what Kim was going to ask.

"Can I go outside?" Kim inquired eagerly and Shego said it right along with her to show her annoyance. The redhead was not fazed by that.

"I need to take you out there. We've got to meet someone," Shego answered, almost in a hurry now. Her companion was happy to hear that she could leave, but she was curious about the latter part of that response.

"Meet someone?" Kim echoed in a confused tone. Her eyebrows curled up and her mouth turned up also.

"Yes, meet someone. So, come on," Shego rushed the vampire, who was luckily already dressed because of the sheer hope that she would be going outside. She took Kim by the shoulders and turned her to walk of the door.

"Okay," Kim quickly agreed, even though she did not seem to have much choice in the matter. She was not about to ask too many questions since she was getting what she wanted. She did wonder what the big rush was about.

Shego had been out checking on some the main reason that she brought Kim out. She now needed to get Kim there before something happened, which was why she was rushing the redhead out of the place now. Oh, there was one last bit that she needed to tell Kim about before they walked out into the streets.

"Be careful, Princess. I've heard there are vampires out here," Shego warned her companion quite seriously. Kim frowned at that announcement; Shego mirrored the expression.

--------------

Next time: they run into some vampires, who have some issues with the pair.


	3. Shadows

I don't own these characters.

3: Shadows

The streets were dark and quiet. The air was still, as if it was waiting for something to happen. The stars even seemed to be in hiding, glancing out only when clouds moved on. The moon drifted in and out of sight, almost as if it checking to see if the coast was clear.

Kim could not quite make out where she and her constant companion were despite her exceptional night vision. They seemed to be a in a small European village, but she was not totally sure where it might have been, and Shego was not saying. The redheaded vampire did not care much anyway. She was happy to get out of the house and stretch her limbs.

Shego did not seem to be paying Kim much mind, focusing more on watching the streets. She had been out there enough to know that things were not as quiet as they seemed. She supposed that saying "it's the quiet ones you gotta watch" went beyond normal people.

"Where're we going?" Kim asked curiously while listening to their shoes touch on the cobblestone street. They were not wearing footwear that made a lot of noise, but she could make out the soft sounds thanks to her heightened predatory senses.

"Some place. It's not too far," Shego answered cryptically in a slightly low voice. She wanted to keep it a surprise and she wanted to draw as little attention to them as possible. She knew that if she told Kim then there was going to be all sorts of commotion.

Kim sighed, wishing that she could get more out of Shego than just "some place." She tried not to think about what was going on and just took in her surroundings. Her ears picked up sounds of people in their homes, safe and sound. Actually…now that she looked around, _no one_ was on the streets.

"Shego," Kim said, speaking in a low voice now too. It just seemed like the thing to do in such an empty area. She did not want to disturb anything, even the air.

"Yeah?" Shego asked in an almost absent tone, still not paying much mind to the redhead.

"Why aren't more people out? I mean, I know it's night and it's a small town and everything, but there's seriously no one out here," Kim pointed out while looking around, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone or something moving in the night.

"I told you why."

"No, you didn't."

"Kimmie, I said there are vampires around here," the green-skinned woman reminded her cohort.

Kim did not say anything more. Everyone was inside because of rumors of vampires? She figured that it was rumors because vampires rarely let themselves be known to humans that they were around. At least not until the immortal went out for a meal; the meal always got to find out the rumors were true.

Well, she knew that they had not seen her since she had been in a cave that was miles away from the town for months now. So, she was not the start of the rumors. She considered that they might have mistaken Shego for a vampire since she had only been coming out at night, as far as Kim knew anyway, and she did have her strange, pale skin tone.

"They think you're a vampire?" Kim asked with a curious expression on her face.

"They did at first. But, I'm not talking about me, cupcake," Shego commented, sounding a bit annoyed. Why the hell would she warn Kim about vampires if the townsfolk thought that she was the vampire?

"No?" Kim could not believe it. She happened to be in the same small town with vampires terrorizing people, making their presence known to people enough for the people to stay indoors at night? Odd, but then again, it would not be the first time that she was in a small town with a vampire.

Shego did not say anything. As far as she was concerned, the world was littered with vampires. She never thought about it until she had one in her keep, but getting intelligence on places, looking for the right place to take Kim and learning about the area that they were now in let her know that vampires were every-fucking-where. She would not have cared much, but there something was something more to vampires when it came to her and her companion. Vampires did not like either of them very much and even started roaming in packs just to catch a glimpse of them…and the vampires tried to do more than that more often than not.

"All we need to do is make it to the edge of town," Shego muttered to herself. That was all they needed to do. After that, everything should be fine, she tried to convince herself. Her thoughts were thrown off as her cohort spoke again.

"Shego," Kim said. She heard the older woman mumbling to herself, so she guessed that it was about time that she spoke up. There was a change in the air, after all. It was hardly noticeable, but she could practically feel it in her undead bones. She knew that she needed to make her companion aware of what she now knew.

"What?" Shego huffed slightly.

Kim noted the older woman's annoyance, but did not acknowledge it. "I think we're being followed," she informed Shego.

"Followed?" Shego echoed with a frown and then she looked around. She knew that she did not have the same senses as Kim. Sure, she was thief and a well-trained fighter, alert to her surroundings at all times, but she was not a predator.

"We're being followed," Kim confirmed in a strong voice. She doubted that she would have noticed, even with the vampire senses, but those coupled with her instincts and experience as a hero let her know that they were definitely being followed.

"Oh, that's just great," Shego grumbled. All they needed to do was make it to the other side of the damn town and they could not even do that! They did not even make it halfway. Why did Fate hate her so much, Shego begged to know in her mind.

"So, should we split up?" Kim asked in a business-like tone. Usually, when they were being followed, they would split up. They liked finding out which one of them was the person of interest or if there were more than one person following then.

Shego had to think about that one. They were used to regular humans following them. Sure, that human might have a weapon, but they had weapons of their own. They were also experts at stealth and could easily get the drop on a human, but they could possibly be being followed by vampires right now. A vampire was a whole other matter.

"No, stay close to me," Shego ordered while trying to spot whoever was following them for herself. If vampires were following them, there was no "person of interest." They were both wanted in that case.

"Why?" Kim asked curiously. She did not understand why they were straying from their norm. It did not occur to her that vampires might be following them from how easily she was picking them up. It seemed that she was adjusting more and more to being an immortal and did not even notice how fine-tuned her senses had become by now.

"Just stay close to me and tell me what you can pick up about whoever's following us," Shego ordered in a no-nonsense, rather harsh manner.

Kim frowned, upset that she was catching flack from her companion. She did not say anything about, though. She picked up the subtle change in Shego, the alert look in her eyes, the tenseness in her shoulders, the slight tilt of her head showing that she was trying to hear what was going on around them, and she could even hear the slight pick up in Shego's heartbeat. Those things let her know that her current mood was different from her attitude a minute ago. She decided to just do like Shego said and find out about what was going on later.

"I can't really tell how many people are following us. I can just pick up movement out if the corner of my eye every now and then," Kim reported while glancing about her to keep track of the people following them.

Shego frowned deeply now. Kim was probably noticing vampires then. Damn it, the green-skinned fugitive thought. All she wanted to do was go to the end of the town without a problem. Was she really asking for too much?!

_They're probably gonna wanna "talk" to us_, Shego commented sarcastically in her mind while scanning the area, wanting to catch sight of the blood-suckers to avoid being taken by complete surprise. She scowled deeper when she could not catch any sign of who was following them.

"Maybe we should duck onto a side street, just to try something else," Kim suggested since the people following them did not seem to be making a move. Her instincts were starting to beg for some action, so she wanted whoever was following them to make a move.

"Maybe," Shego concurred. It was not like they would be allowed in at their destination if they had vampires or even thugs crawling up their asses. They needed to lose the extra baggage and they needed to do it fast. "Just make sure you stick close to me," she ordered.

"Yes, master," Kim replied sarcastically while rolling her eyes. She could not believe how overprotective her cohort was being toward her. She could handle herself, after all; that was a well-proven fact.

They quickly ducked into a narrow side street. They continued on their way, Kim following Shego's lead while tuning her senses in tracking those that were on their trail. She was still noticing that people were following them.

"Shego, we've still got company," Kim informed the former thief.

"Okay, let's get a chance to see what we're dealing with then," Shego commented because she wanted to get things out of the way.

Kim wondered what the older woman was talking about when Shego suddenly leaped up onto a rooftop, using a trashcan as boast up and then having to push off a wall to make it to the top. Kim followed along, easily jumping up to the roof from her standing position on the ground.

"What're we doing up here?" Kim asked while looking around. She was still picking up shadows and that feeling in the air.

Shego did not respond verbally; she only looked at the redhead. The hero kind of guessed the meaning, knowing that Shego was now hoping for the people that were following them come up on the roof to keep an eye on them. After all, it would be quite difficult to follow them from the ground if they remained out of sight on the roofs.

"Where are they, Kimmie?" Shego inquired while looking around, hoping to catch some glimpse of the people tailing them.

"I think they're still below us. It's…a lot of them," Kim answered while straining her ears for some sign of their probable-foes.

"Damn it," Shego growled. She scanned the area, knowing that they needed to move some place that would better suit them for a fight. Being in such an open area with a bunch of vampires attacking them would work against them rather badly. They needed some place narrow and closed off so that they could defend themselves.

"Shego!" Kim yelled and pointed behind the pale woman.

Shego turned around at Kim's warning just in time to see a near-white-skinned man bearing down on her. She had time to flare her hands, but that was about it. She would have been a late dinner if only Kim had not ripped into action. The former teen hero actually tackled the man looking to hurt Shego, hitting him with a force that would have broken the bones of a normal human.

"What're you trying to do to Shego?" Kim demanded to know while grabbing the man by the collar of his black suit jacket. It was fairly obvious what he was trying to do, but she was so upset that was the only question that came to mind.

"It's not her we're trying to do something to this night," a different man answered while yanking Kim off of the first male. He held her firmly in his grip and she hissed at him in a very familiar manner, leaving her pristine fangs on display as she made the noise.

"Let her go, parasite," Shego ordered with a growl while flaring her hands. With vampires, she was in the habit of shooting first and asking questions later. They were not a social lot, after all, and she was not looking for them to get "friendly."

The two men turned to acknowledge Shego, mostly because of the emerald fire dancing off of her fingertips. They knew that she was a danger to them. After all, stories of the plasma-wielder echoed through out their circles, causing shivers among the weak, curiosity among the strong, and skepticism to the rest. Meeting her in person, seeing her power and thinking about the stories about her, it turned most vampires into very cautious creatures.

"Listen carefully, fire-user Shego," the first male started his announcements.

All vampires addressed Shego with the title "fire-user." She guessed it was out of fear and a constant reminder to themselves just what she did. It never really helped them from what she could tell.

"We just want the girl. We'll excuse your crimes to our world as long as you leave us the girl," the first man informed Shego while smoothing out his suit. He ignored the pain in his lower back that came from being hit by the young redhead. He was surprised that such a young one could have such power, but he supposed that he should have expected it. After all, she had been chosen and created by Adrian. He never took lowly companions; they only made themselves that way later on.

"You let the girl go or I'll have a lot more crimes against your world," Shego commented with a dangerous snarl tugging at her top lip. Her plasma continued to dance in her hands, keeping the immortals attention glued to her.

She had killed her fair share of vampires over the years, sometimes because they were terrorizing humans in some manner and GJ sending her out with Kim to solve the problem. Vampires did not seem to believe in being taken prisoner, so things almost always ended the same when she and Kim came across blood-drinkers on missions.

Other times, the vampires were coming after her and Kim personally. Shego did not hate that it got easier with each kill. She just was not willing to allow Kim to be taken for them to do god-only-knew-what. She was also not about to let vampires do whatever they felt like to her for "crimes against them."

"You really think you stand a chance against all of us?" another vampire inquired while rising up out of the shadows. It was a woman with chalk white skin, crimson red hair dressed in all black, like her male companions. Her lips were painted the color of blood to match her hair. She appeared behind Shego.

"I think we can give it a shot," the former sidekick replied in a cold tone.

"Yeah, it's just three of you," Kim pointed out, even though she was still being help by one of the immortals. By her account, the only reason she was being held was because she had not attempted to escape yet. The vampire holding her assumed that she was not stupid enough to test him.

The former teen hero was quickly corrected as seven more vampires came up out of the shadows. Okay, so it was only ten of them. Yeah, ten might be a bit of a challenge, Kim and Shego both thought. But they had experience with vampires while the children of the night had only heard tales about them. After all, no vampire that clashed with them personally got to walk away from the battle.

The two partners glanced at each other; here was a time when being so close came in very handy. They were practically telepathic when it came to each other now; their eyes telling the other everything just as well as any words would. And it was from that brief look that they sprang into action.

Kim slipped down out of the vampire's hold, ducking and taking out the legs of the other vampire near her. Shego quickly threw two plasma charges, hitting both male vampires, but not directly with one. She managed to burn the arm off of that one, who hissed in agony, sounding like a gagging snake. The other was smashed right in the chest with the flaming projectile. He let out a gut-wrenching wail as his body went up in jade flames.

Kim launched herself up while Shego was taking care of those two and rocketed over at a pair of vampires trying to take Shego from behind. She landed her foot in one's face, even though he saw her coming. He just did not expect the fighting experience that she had from what she could tell; it was a common occurrence with immortals when dealing with her. She was surprised that it had not gotten around to more vampires that what she lacked in experience with their dark powers, she definitely made up for in martial arts knowledge.

Shego covered Kim, throwing out plasma blasts that the vampires were dodging. She cursed under her breath; there was too much open space. She turned around and ran ahead of Kim, looking to take out any vampires coming closer to the redhead. Kim was right behind her, keeping vampires off of Shego's back. In the end, Shego practically did a swan dive off of the roof while Kim just disappeared.

"After them!" the crimson-haired female vampire ordered heatedly, pointing in the direction the duo had vanished in. "We won't let them get away again!"

Chasing Kim and Shego had become an exasperating hobby for the vampire world in their opinions. Shego knew she was wanted for crimes against the vampire world, which she guessed had to do with the fact that she ended a lot of vampires over the years. Hey, she would not even think about vampires if they were not trying to take Kim from her.

Kim was not quite sure what the vampires were after her for. Yes, she had taken care of a few vampires, but they were trying to hurt Shego at the time. No one was going to hurt Shego while she was around! Little did she know, but they were seriously trying to hurt Shego by taking Kim away from the green-skinned woman.

Shego was quite aware of the reason why the vampires were trying to take Kim because unlike Kim, she gathered intelligence whenever she could. She had connections like that, whereas Kim had lost all of her connections when she "went missing"; during the time she was first a "guest" of her vampire creator Adrian and then a "guest" of Global Justice. Shego knew that the vampires were trying to take Kim out of the human world and bring her into theirs since she was a vampire. A vampire was not supposed to play pet to their food supply in vampires' opinions. It just was not proper behavior for an immortal.

The former teen hero never considered going into the vampire world. It did not even cross her mind. She could not imagine leaving Shego. She definitely could not imagine being forced to leave Shego to go be with vampires, especially not after what she had gone through with Adrian.

Kim also had punishments coming to her once the vampires got their hands on her. She had taken vampire lives, after all. That was unacceptable in most societies, even if they were full of anti-social snobs, like the vampire world. They also could not let it seem like one could just kill immortals and there was no punishment for such an offense.

There was also the matter that she was hanging around her creator's killer. That was just a blunt insult to other immortals. To think that one of them would go to the lengths of creating a companion only to have some wild woman come in and slay them and then take their companion for her own was just too much. As far as Shego could tell, Kim would not make it out of the vampire world alive if they ever got their hands on her and she would be damned if she was going to let that happen.

"Gotcha!" Kim smiled as she appeared right in time to catch Shego, so the older female avoided a rather nasty landing on uneven ground after jumping down four floors.

"Fancy meeting you here," Shego remarked in her usual smart-aleck manner as Kim set her down.

"Make our stand here?" Kim asked while looking around. The area looked perfect for them to fight. It was narrow with only one way out not counting leap up to the roofs or disappearing point back.

"Yeah, just be careful near me, princess," the super-powered fugitive pled, concern almost misting her eyes over.

Kim only smiled; of course she was going to be careful. She was not going to make a wrong move and end up killed by Shego. She could not even imagine how that would weigh on her partner. So, whenever Shego flared up, she was at the height of caution, as was Shego for that matter.

The pair did not even have a few extra seconds to themselves before the alley that they were in was covered with vampires. The immortals' minds were clouded by the humiliation that they had already suffered over the years from being thwarted by the duo. The vampires did not notice that they were playing right into their enemies' hands.

"Sometimes, I find it hard to believe these guys have lived hundreds of years," Shego quipped with a demonic smirk as she went to work.

Kim knew what her partner meant considering how they always came at Shego. The pale woman could generate the means of their freaking destruction from her own body, yet they always attacked her right on. Then again, when they attacked her from behind or from the side or any other sneak attack, Kim was on them before they could even touch Shego. Heaven forbid one of the vampires wise up and bring a weapon, the duo never forgave such an offense.

Shego let loose a stream of plasma at a vampire in front of her, knowing that Kim had her back if there was one coming to sneak attack her. She easily nailed that first vampire in the center of his chest; she had found that was the best place to hit them for a swift demise. As she turned to fire up another one, he disappeared into a shadow. Shego silently cursed, but made sure to keep her eyes on the other foes around her.

As the vampire tried coming out of the shadow, Kim was on him a flash. He felt her knuckles on his cheek before he could even think about how he wanted to hurt Shego. Kim cut into him using her nails while he was stunned from her punch.

Any mercy that Kim used to have had melted away long ago when it came to Shego. Sometimes the predator in her just came to the surface without any warning. That predator often saved Shego's life, which was about the only thing that kept her from going back down the road of considering herself a monster.

As Kim tore into one vampire, her nature flared in her when seeing another one creeping closer to Shego. She flung away the one male that she was manhandling and flew at the female that was decidedly too close to the pale fugitive. Kim hit that vampire with the same force as a speeding train, sending her through the nearby thick wall, which luckily did not lead into someone's home. By now, Kim's eyes were freezing cold and there were a few blue veins visible through her skin, signaling that she was getting a bit furious with everyone going after _her_ Shego.

"I don't think you want to do that," Kim growled at the vampire girl in her grip before showing off that she had learned how to use her powers quite effectively even though she was living with humans. The vampire girl screamed as Kim crushed her shoulder in her powerful grip.

Shego did not even turn around when she heard the shout of pain since it was not her cohort's voice. She continued on fighting off the blood-suckers that were focusing on her. She knew instinctively that Kim was fine and that the vampire trying to get her from behind was no longer a problem.

"You guys make this way too easy," Shego commented while putting her plasma-charged, clawed hand through a vampire and turning to do the same move to another. She did not bother with watching the first one dissolve into ashes.

The super-powered woman made short work of most of the vampires, having to only focus on getting rid of them since Kim had her back. Before she knew it, the alley was a lot less crowded, but not more pleasant. Something disheartening was called to her attention.

"Fire-wielder, I'm taking this girl," the crimson-haired vampire informed Shego when her emerald eyes fell onto the woman blood-sucker.

Shego frowned as she saw the female vamp was holding Kim. The pale, crimson-haired immortal had a blade pressed against Kim's chest. Kim was snarling, upset with being caught. Her rage was evident from the length of her fangs and the blood-thirsty look in her eyes; it seemed that her inner predator was roaring at the surface now.

"Kimmie, calm down," Shego said first and foremost in an easy voice of her own. "Everything's going to be fine. I'm not hurt and I won't be," she assured her companion, knowing her wellbeing was the reason that Kim was letting her rage take her over.

Kim took a few panting breaths as she listened to the plasma-user. The tone more than the words got to Kim. The soothing sound of Shego's voice brought back the usual Kim and eased her inner predator back in its cage in the depths of her mind. Her fangs shrank to their typical size and her eyes softened to their usual olive instead of blazing forest green.

"I'm taking this girl," the crimson-haired vampire stated once more.

"What the hell makes you think you're even making it out of this alley, let alone taking my Princess with you?" Shego inquired quite seriously while flaring her hands higher than they had already been going. The vampire hissed from the brightness coming from Shego while Kim stood impassively.

"Listen," the vampire stated in a threatening tone. "This knife is pure silver. If it only nicks this girl, she'll die." She then pressed the blade closer to Kim, who was holding her breath now to avoid any accidents.

"You kill her and you don't have a hostage anymore. Your ass is grass if you kill her," Shego pointed out.

The vampiress seemed to think on that, which was just what Shego wanted. Kim took the moment of indecision to fade from her captor's grip. Before the crimson-haired vampire realized that she had lost her prey, she had become a target. A target that was standing perfectly still.

Shego wasted no time in letting the vampire feel her fiery wrath. She let loose a stream of emerald flames, which impacted the immortal directly in the chest. Kim had to fall back, still just a little too close to the blood-sucker. The villainous vampire let loose a horrified, blood-curdling scream as the fire consumed her body. She did not go without a fight, though.

The flaming vampire lunged toward Kim, seeming to think to take the hero with her. Kim was close enough that the vampire would have gotten her if only Shego was not there. Shego acted quickly while Kim got out of the way and she hit their foe with a second blast. That plasma hit was so powerful that it went through the vampire, splitting her in half.

Their enemy gasped in disbelief while Shego ran to Kim and grabbed her, instinctively powering down her hands right before she made contact with her immortal. Shego turned Kim away from the fire and shielded the hero from the flames with her body. Kim watched as the other redhead went from being a solid being to a pile of ashes, just like every other vampire that Shego used her powers on. Kim curled deeper into Shego's body from habit as the ashes fell.

"It's okay," Shego whispered to the younger woman.

"I know," Kim replied honestly in a low voice because she knew that everything was fine for her as long as Shego was there. She supposed it was kind of strange that she felt such protection from the same woman that produced the thing that stirred an instinctive, primal fear inside of her.

They remained as they were until the last vampire was nothing more than a pile of ash. Both then turned toward the mouth of the alley, looking to continue on their way. They stopped dead in their tracks when a young man stepped over, blocking their path.

Kim knew on instinct that the young man was not someone that they wanted to know. She snarled in his direction, causing him to frown. He then raised his hand, revealing a large knife.

"Filthy beast," the young man growled before letting the blade fly.

--------------

Next time: Who is this guy and why doesn't Kim like him already? Let's have another fight.


	4. Darkness

I don't own these characters.

4: Darkness

Kim and Shego watched for a moment as they were attacked by a strange man; he attacked by throwing a knife. They had only just gotten rid of a gang of annoying vampires looking to take Kim away from Shego; it was a bad idea and did not get better when put into practice. They could not believe that, only seconds after one dangerous and deadly fight, they seemed to be in for another one.

The newcomer actually gave off a deadlier vibe than the vampires. There was something about the young man's aura that suggested he could wilt flowers and kill grass just by standing near the plants. His pale blue eyes glared out into the world with frozen indifference.

The duo reacted quickly, getting out of the way of the knife. They did not have to wonder who the newcomer was after because he immediately went after Kim when he saw that he could not touch her with his blade. He shocked both ladies by going at Kim at a remarkable speed that no human should ever be able to achieve on his own.

His black leather jacket fluttered behind him like an onyx vapor trail as he moved. His spiked ebony hair did not move out of place, though. His face was hidden because of the night and the shadows from his hair. The vampire would see his face soon enough, though.

The young man knocked Kim into a side wall and pressed against her throat with his forearm. His rounded jaw was fixed into a tight frown as he took control of her. He seemed quite dispassionate about his powerful hold on her; his eyes held an emptiness to them, as if they never looked at the world before. From his arm on her throat though, she felt that he was a man of power, and if she had been a normal person, he would have crushed her windpipe by now.

Kim snarled, revealing her pearl white fangs as she voiced her displeasure in a primitive noise. He did not seem moved while pulling out another knife. He spun it once in hand and seemed ready to plant it in Kim's chest, but he forgot about a deciding factor sharing the alley with them. He had completely blanked on Shego.

"Get away from my princess!" Shego roared while unleashing a plasma blast that felt something like a plane landing on him when it collided with the male.

The Chinese young man hissed in anger as he crashed against the ground thanks to the attack. He growled like a beast himself while Kim went to hide behind Shego since the pale woman's hands were still flared. Kim did not want to chance even being nicked by her partner's flames.

"What kind of beast are _you_?" he demanded to know with a very pained groan. One almond-shaped eye was closed as he tried his best not to openly grimace from the agony that he was in.

"Never mind that! Who the hell are you?" Shego demanded to know, clawed hands ready to tear him apart personally for having the gall to try to take Kimmie from her. Fear did not begin to cover the thought that raced through her mind when she had seen him preparing to stab at Kim with what appeared to be a pure silver dagger; silver was death to a vampire, she knew. Her body had had the nerve to shut down on her for a few precious moments and that was why she did not hit the male until the last moment.

"They call me Lee. Now, step away from the beast, so that I might have her," he warned Shego in a cold voice as he climbed to his feet. The look in his eyes remained frosted over; that told Shego something.

"You wouldn't understand why I can't do that, or why I can't let you keep calling her a beast," the green-skinned woman replied, tense and ready to attack when necessary. He had the eyes of a man that had never loved anything or anyone. He could never begin to fathom that she would fucking die in that alley before she let him touch Kim again.

"Why do you stand up for a beast anyway? You're not like her," Lee commented while nodding toward the redhead. His facial expression did not change, but he was thoroughly confused. Why stand up for a vicious animal, he wondered. He figured that the green-skinned woman was just crazy; it was trait shared by many women in his opinion.

"You wouldn't understand. Now, unless you want to taste my plasma full force, I suggest you disappear," Shego informed him with a deep scowl on her face.

"You stand up for a vampire? Women are always full of idiotic notions," Lee spat, frowning himself now. He was disgusted by her behavior. How dare she help a creature that fed on others!

"Come say it to our faces, punk," Shego replied with venom.

Lee glared at them. The ladies tensed, having a bad feeling about the Asian young man. He proved them right.

Lee launched himself at the pair, going faster than Shego was able to track, which was a surprise. He was not done surprising them either. The next thing he did was too much for both of them. He went after Shego instead of Kim and he caught her before either of them could react. Shego almost did not gasp in time with his move because the motion was so swift.

Kim's eyes were faster than Shego's body, so she saw just what happened. Lee had pulled another blade and shamelessly put it in Shego's gut. Kim was cemented in place for a second, which was all the time that Lee needed to let Shego fall off of his knife.

Shego's eyes were wide as it finally reached her mind that she had in fact been stabbed. She looked down at her stomach, seeing her blood starting to stain her plain green shirt. She gagged and fell down to the ground, coughing when her back impacted the cobblestone. Blood gushed forth from her mouth while her hand came up to cover the new hole in her stomach.

Kim's anger flared before Shego even hit the ground. Her predatory nature broke loose of whatever restraints Kim had placed around it over the years and a fiery red aura exploded around her. Her eyes bled over, crimson consuming the whites completely, while her fangs grew to the point where they were out of her closed mouth. She then roared like a wounded lion.

"SHEGO!" Kim screamed at the top of her lungs as thoughts of her lover being deceased bombarded her distressed mind.

The redhead did not even have to time to consider that she would be alone for all eternity if Shego was dead, or dying. Her mind offered only one other thought to accompany Shego being gone: _KILL that bastard!_ Kim did not object to that plan.

Kim seemed to disappear and reappear in front of Lee as he was turning to face her; she actually just moved so fast that it looked like she vanished. She was going to go straight for ripping his throat out with her claws, but he put his forearm up to block her. He shoved her away with the same forearm, giving up chucks of it to her claws.

"How did you move that fast?" Lee demanded to know, trying his best to hide his surprise. He had never met a vampire that his eyes could not track.

Kim merely frowned. She took a moment to taste her enemy's blood as it dripped off of her talons in small, scarlet drops. Her tongue dragged across her index finger and she frowned even deeper.

"You judge me, yet this isn't even human blood that's going through your veins," Kim stated with a snarl. His blood had a foul aftertaste and reminded her of her own blood. She had one cut herself on a glass and out of curiosity tasted her blood before the wound closed up seconds later.

"It's human enough," he replied in his usual tone now. He was over his shock and silently vowed not to let the vampire take him by surprise again.

"What the hell are you?" she inquired, buying time to distract him. If she could keep him talking, she was going to fly at him again at her top speed and try to tear his neck open again.

"Don't worry about it. Just come with me, Kim," he ordered.

"Why do you know my name?" she asked in a suspicious tone.

"If you come with me, Global Justice might be able to save your friend," he pointed out. He was looking to lull her into dropping her guard. He was going to bring her into GJ because he needed the money that they were offering for Kim. He did not know why the young vampire was so important, but he knew that he needed money if he was going to keep hunting vermin like her.

"Global Justice?" Kim echoed. So, Global Justice was sending people after her, people that seemed to have no problem with killing to get her. She would take care of that, she silently vowed. "And they just gave you permission to kill Shego?" she demanded to know.

"She's not dead yet, I'm sure you can tell that. But, she will be soon enough unless she gets help," he countered.

Kim snarled again. Like hell she would take Shego to Global Justice after one of their mangy dogs had been the one to hurt her! Besides, she had learned her lesson from when Shego took her to GJ for help so many years ago. Global Justice seemed less inclined to help her and more inclined to study her. She did not want to think about what they might do to Shego, whether she was alive in a hospital bed or if she was dead. They would think of her body as a toy. Kim would not allow that.

"So, just come quietly, little monster," Lee commanded with a frown of his own.

Kim did not even reply. She needed to get rid of him, so she could take care of Shego. So, she went at him again.

Lee saw her coming that time, but her hands were still faster than he suspected. She tried to go for his throat again and if it was not for his agility, she probably would have ripped through the whole front part of his face. He leaned back just in time to miss getting his skull torn open, though.

"You're pretty fast," he commented, sounding more amazed than he meant to.

"Just die already!" she replied, not wanting his compliments. She just wanted to be rid of him. She would feast on his bitter-tasting blood for what he did to her companion!

Lee was going to say something in return, but he stopped and gasped. He looked down to see that Kim's second attack had landed. Her hand was partially buried in his chest now. His blood ran down her fingers, slowly dripping off of her hand. The sounds of the drops trickling onto the street hit their ears, sounding loud as a foghorn to both of them.

"Gotcha," she boasted with a sinister smile.

Lee looked down in disbelief. She was quite the fast creature. He suspected now that it had to do with what she was when she was human. She had been a spectacular human, a hero, he read in her Global Justice file. When she was turned, somehow her body must have compensated and changed to keep on being spectacular. Unfortunately, now she was a spectacular demon.

Lee countered Kim's smile with a smirk of his own. "You have nothing, beast," he informed her while backing off of her hand.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Kim demanded to know as she went to follow him, but he pulled out a new knife, forcing her to back off by taking a swipe with the blade.

"I have no qualms with simply killing you and leaving your wench to bleed to death in this alley, beast," Lee informed the redhead with a dead serious expression on his face and a frost in his voice that would have iced over the tropics.

Kim snarled again, much like an animal, thanks to the mention of Shego dying. She was not going to let that happen! She flung herself at her enemy, still wanting little more than to remove his head from his shoulders in the messiest way imaginable.

"I'll fucking eat your skull!" Kim declared in a roar, striking out with her claws again.

Lee thought that he would be able to dodge, but he found that Kim was coming at him ever faster than before. She was acting like a cornered animal, he thought. And it was not that she was fighting for her life, but fighting for her cohort's life. He was not touched or impressed.

He raised his knife, looking to keep her away, but she merely cut through his hand. Lee watched in disbelief as his right hand fell to the cobblestone ground with a dull thud. He was so shocked that he could not react fast enough to keep Kim off of him.

Kim had no remorse in her actions, putting her hand in his chest yet again. That time, she buried her hand passed the wrist in his torso. He gasped as his mind registered the pain, even though her movements were swift, almost smooth. She stared at him with demented satisfaction in her ruby-tinted eyes and a delighted smile tugging at her lips.

"Now you die," Kim growled.

"I doubt that," he replied while trying to back off of her hand.

"Yes!" she growled while shoving her hand in deeper. Her forearm was now halfway buried into his chest and she was willing to shove the whole arm through if he wanted to be difficult.

"You can't kill me, Kim. Haven't you figured it out yet? You tasted my blood, after all."

"Figured what out?"

"I'm a dhampire and the only reason you're still walking this Earth is because I was hired to bring you in alive," he informed her.

Kim's brow furrowed at that knowledge. She knew what a dhampire was, the offspring of a vampire and a human. She knew that dhampires were supposed to be extraordinary in tracking down vampires and especially skilled in killing immortals. She had never met one until Lee. He had plans of being the last one that she met, but she would argue that she would be the last vampire he hunted.

"I could so easily rip your heart out right now. I doubt you'll survive that," she pointed out with a glare.

Lee could not call her a liar on that. With her speed, he would be taking a high gamble on trying to beat her out. If he lost that gamble, he would also lose his heart, which would kill him, even if he was a dhampire. He also had no doubt that she would take his heart from the look in her eyes despite the information that he read about her in a file. Maybe she did not kill when she was human, but she was a beast now, he thought.

"So, what're you going to do?" Kim inquired with a daring glint in her olive/crimson eyes.

"Kill you," he replied as if it was the most logical thing of all. There was no way in hell that he was going to let some whelp vampire be his demise.

With his remaining arm, Lee flung a number of a silver spikes at Kim. She moved out of the way just in time to avoid having her face burned by the pure metal. He took that time to yank her hand from his chest. But, his wounds made him slow and Kim was able to counter him before he could do anything.

Kim grabbed Lee by the neck and forced his back into a wall. He grunted on impact, but she was not done with him. She yanked him away from the wall and started crushing his neck with her bare hand. She held him off the ground with her supernatural strength and stared at him with pure, unashamed hatred in her eyes. She watched as his face started to turn blue and she listened carefully to the sound of his bones cracking under her hold. The feel of his bones crumbling under her fingers brought a smile to her face.

"No one hurts my Shego!" Kim roared and she actually broke his neck in her bare hands. "Nobody hurts Shego while I'm around," she whispered that one while the sound of her heavy breathing filled the air.

Kim tossed Lee's body away like it was trash; to her, he was just that. Her mind was set to the point that anyone that was not Shego at the moment was nothing to her, was worthless to her. With the deadweight out of her hands and out of her sight, she turned to partner.

For once, Kim loathed the smell of Shego's sweet blood being in the air. It sickened her rather than making her hungry and she was certain that if she was capable, she would be throwing up right now. She wasted no time in falling to Shego's side.

"Shego," Kim said with surprising tears building in her eyes. She had thought that vampires were incapable of tears, but she felt like she could and would cry forever if Shego was going to die on her.

Shego's eyes were closed and her wound was still bleeding. Kim felt like she might panic, but her sensitive ears could hear Shego's heart beating. The sound was faint, but it was there. So, the first thing that Kim did was tear off some cloth from her clothing to cover her companion's wound. Her pink tee-shirt now revealed half of her belly as she wrapped the cloth around the raven-haired woman's abdomen.

"P-p-princess…" Shego breathed out.

"Shego!" Kim rushed to be face to face with the fugitive. Being there, she could hear Shego's breathing, which gave her faith that the green-skinned woman would live long enough for her to find help.

"Calm down, princess," Shego said in a shadow of her usual voice. "Ah, that bastard got me good, didn't he?" She tried to force out a smile to downplay the situation and ease Kim's raw nerves, but she could not get the expression out.

"It's okay. He won't hurt you again," Kim promised while reaching up to caress Shego's face to let the older woman know that she was there, even though they were talking.

Shego's skin felt odd for a woman that should be close to death. Her skin was still warm and she was not sweating much. In fact, her heart sounded stronger now than it had a minute ago. Weird, Kim thought; not that she was going to complain.

"Didn't hurt me much here. Okay, I'm lying. This shit hurts like hell," the raven-haired woman commented with a forced out laugh.

"It's okay. I'll get you some help," Kim promised. If push came to shove, she might even do something drastic to make sure that Shego did not leave her. She did not know what she would do without Shego. She was pretty sure that she would wander the planet like a lost puppy for all eternity if Shego died.

"You don't worry. Just help me up and we'll keep going. I'll be fine," Shego said quite seriously.

"What do you mean you'll be fine? He stabbed you in the stomach!" Kim pointed out in distress.

"I know. I was there, cupcake. You know, we've known each other for a long time, so you should know how tough I am," Shego countered.

Kim was about to argue, but then she started thinking about the creature that was Shego. She had witnessed Shego walk away from some things that would easily kill any normal person. Hell, she had done something to Shego that would have been the end of any other person, but Shego only suffered minor injuries and a few consecutive bad hair days. It seemed that the former sidekick died damn hard.

"Are you sure?" Kim asked while reaching out to pick her cohort up.

"Kimmie, I'm gonna be fine. We can't waste this night," Shego replied while shamelessly leaning all of her weight against the vampire. She knew the immortal would have no problem holding her up.

"Why not?" Kim asked curiously. She would rather get Shego home and let her rest up. They could always go out again when Shego was totally healthy.

"The person we have to see, I've been told is…temperamental," the older woman answered vaguely.

"Temperamental?" the redhead echoed in a confused tone while starting to walk out of the alley.

Shego did not explain what she meant. She happened to glance to her left as Kim led her out of the alley and she saw Lee's body. She wanted to say something to Kim, but she felt like she could not. They had already spent the years killing vampires that came after them, so she did not see why it should matter that Kim killed Lee. She could put together a moral argument and, really, if it was him or Kim that had to die, she was glad that it was him. She did not care how horrible it sounded or if it made her a bad person; all she wanted was for Kim to live.

Shego did worry about Kim killing someone with human blood in a fit of rage, though. She knew that when Kim got angry, humans suddenly dropped from equals to meals with legs that needed to shut up while she was talking. If killing one person with human blood was easy for her, would she likely turn to doing it again the next time she was pissed off? Would she eventually turn into a murderer? Shego had to find out.

"Kimmie, you killed Lee, you know that, right?" the former thief inquired, not sure how else to start the conversation.

"I know," Kim answered, trying to sound indifferent to the situation, but her voice cracked.

"Why?"

"He was going to hurt you…" Kim answered in a low voice. "We protect each other no matter what, right?" she countered.

Shego nodded. "That we do, Princess," she agreed. From those brief sentences, she could tell that Kim was not proud of what she did, but felt like she was doing what was necessary. She doubted that Kim was going to evolve into a killing machine from that one kill. She did not even bother to think about the gravity that came with knowledge and proof that Kim would kill for her; that would have been way too much for her weary body to dwell on.

Kim did not say anything further. To her, sure, she was not proud that she killed Lee, but she was not sad over the fact either. Being rid of him was like being rid of a vampire trying to hurt Shego. She did not draw a distinction between the two just because Lee had human blood. Anyone trying to harm Shego would be forced to stop, killed if necessary. She did not have it in her to worry about if that made her a monster either. Anything for Shego, her mind always reminded her. Anything and everything for Shego, her savior, her lover, her friend.

"So, where are we going?" Kim asked curiously. She figured that she would finally be let in on the secret since she was holding Shego up.

"Just keep going in this direction," Shego answered, nodding slightly in the direction that they were heading.

"C'mon, you're still not going to tell me?" the redhead whined slightly.

"No."

Kim was silent for a moment and decided to change the subject. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'll live," the green-skinned woman promised.

"What if more vampires show up? Or what if another GJ agent shows up and is like Lee?"

"We'll deal with it," Shego huffed. She was not in favor of all of the questions, especially since she was now thinking about what would happen if they got attacked again. She would probably die then.

"Shego, I know we never talked about it, but…but, if something really bad happens to you…would you be mad…would you be mad if…?" Kim could not even get the question out. The look in her eyes, sorrow mixed with confusion, sort of let Shego know what she was trying to say.

"Kimmie, if things ever come to that…yeah, you can," Shego answered in solid tone to make sure that Kim did not doubt her.

Kim only nodded. The selfish nature inside of her let her know that she would have done it without Shego's permission if something did happen to Shego. She would not want to be without the older woman and so she knew that she would do it without permission. It eased her mind, and the conscience that she very much still had, to now know that she could do so with Shego's consent now, though. She could change Shego into a vampire if things got drastic enough.

Shego consented to that plan because she did not even want to imagine Kim on her own, lonely, without anywhere to turn, and perhaps losing her humanity through that. Besides, Shego did not want to be without Kim. Sure, she did not know what awaited her after death, but she knew that Kimmie would not be there waiting for her. She did not want to be anywhere where there was no Kim, so her reason for agreeing was just as selfish as Kim's for proposing the idea.

As they continued to walk, which to Shego felt suspiciously like floating, but she was not going to say anything about for the moment, she tried to think of herself as a vampire. She doubted that she would have adjusted as well as Kim seemed to have done. She would have killed herself more than likely the first few days, either from igniting her own plasma, unless she somehow turned out to be immune to her own flames. Or, she would just wander into the sun after missing the star for so long. She was not sure how long she would be able to make it if she really could not go out into the sun.

Shego decided to try her best to make sure that Kim would never have to turn her. She had a feeling that it would not sit well with Kim's conscience anyway, and she was right. Kim would constantly think about how she doomed her companion to an eternity of darkness and blood-sucking. Kim did not want that for Shego anymore than Shego wanted it for her.

The trip, which did involve them floating most of the way because Kim did not want to tax Shego's injured body, was decent. The pair were silent for the most part, but they were not letting their thoughts run away with them. They had dealt with vampires enough for them to banish the immortals from the minds after the battle and they had already handled things as far as Lee's death possibly affecting them. Now, they were able to take in the warm, calm night while enjoying that they had their favorite person with them.

The moon and the stars watched the duo carefully as they went to the edge of the town. The heavenly bodies seemed to whisper softly to the pair, speaking kind words and assuring them that everything would be fine. They took the celestial bodies' word on that.

"That's where we're going," Shego informed her cohort as they started coming to a forest. There was a road, which they were on, and then there was one last house before trees swallowed the scene.

Kim nodded. "What's there?" she asked. What was waiting for them at the poorly located, oddly normal looking cottage? Was that where the cure was?

"You'll see."

"Secretive until the end, huh?" Kim said with a sigh.

"You know you like me that way, pumpkin. It always makes for an interesting story later on," Shego remarked with a cheeky smile.

Kim rolled her eyes. "I don't need you hinting to stuff like that right now. I have had dreams of taking you out in the woods, you know."

Shego decided to shut her mouth at that point. She did not have the strength to give it up to Kim in the forest and she had no doubt that Kim was not lying about those dreams. The last thing that she needed was Kim being horny, especially since she knew that Kim was struggling to keep control of herself just with the scent of Shego's blood in the air; she was right, especially since she assured the vampire that she was not going to die.

Smelling Shego's blood always made Kim hungry, even if she just ate. Thinking of Shego in any sexual way was a good way to get Kim's libido working. Having both of those going at the same time was a good way for Kim to lose her mind. The kinkiest sex Shego ever had in her life came when Kim lost her mind thanks desire to feed in two different ways.

"Should I knock?" Kim asked as they came to the door. The house was rather small and appeared to be near ancient. She hoped that it would not fall apart if she did knock.

"How else is he gonna know we're out here, princess?" Shego countered with a teasing smirk. She was trying her best to act normal to keep Kim calm, even though her wound was still bothering her.

"I'm storing away any smartass remarks you make. You've got to go home with me, after all. And I might take us the scenic route through the woods," the vampire pointed out, as if her words were an actual threat. And the surprising thing, they were.

"I'll be good," Shego squeaked. She supposed that her treatment was her own fault. She should have screwed Kim's brains out last night when she had the chance, but it had not occurred to her and Kim had not made any advances. The vampire probably had enough lovin' two nights ago to hold her for a few days and the scent of Shego's fresh blood was probably just waking up Kim's hormones.

The redhead smiled a bit in her victory, which actually felt a bit hollow to her. After all, she wanted to do naughty things to Shego in the woods. She figured that was going to have to stay on her wish list for a little longer since Shego was injured.

Kim knocked on the door; it was a very soft rap because she feared if she touched the wood with too much pressure, the whole place would come down. She could hear movement in the house, so she knew that someone was coming to the door. Shego was about to order Kim to knock again, but that proved unnecessary.

The door opened slowly, revealing that the house was lit up with candles of all things. For a moment, it seemed like the door opened itself, but then a person stepped out from behind the door, He was a short, stocky man that looked like he was in his thirties. He had short deep brown hair and rich olive skin. He had a thin goatee and thin, brown eyebrows. He was dressed plainly in a black shirt and blue jeans.

"Can I help you ladies?" he inquired in a smooth, low voice. He did look slightly annoyed with their presence already and he did not even know who they were.

Kim looked at Shego, wondering if he could help them. Was he the person that Shego wanted to see so badly that she would not even stop to bandage her belly injury? If that was the case, what did such a plain man have that they would need?

"We need the philosopher's stone," Shego answered with no humor in her voice at all.

Kim almost dropped her companion hearing that bizarre response. The man did not outwardly respond to the pale woman's words. Kim wondered if there was a philosopher's stone and if there was, would it cure her?

--------------

Next time: Does this guy really have the philosopher's stone? And if he does, is he willing to share?


	5. Twilight

I don't own these characters.

5: Twilight

"The philosopher's stone, you say?" a brunette man asked curiously. Kim and Shego were standing in him, at his door, requesting odd things most people would think. His chocolate-colored eyebrow arched slightly in the air because of Shego's question. Other than that simple movement, he did not seem as incredulous as most would be to hear such a strange question.

"Yeah, the philosopher's stone. Just _try_ to stand there and play me cheap. I know you're a damn alchemist. We need the philosopher's stone," Shego stated in a gruff, impatient tone. She did not need the runaround, especially considering the fact that she had a stab wound in her stomach that she knew would take a few days to totally heal. The pain was immense, even if it was not fatal.

The man was silent for a moment. He tapped his chin in consideration. "Come in and we'll see if we can discuss this," he replied, his voice not betraying anything.

Kim glanced at Shego, who nodded to show that it was fine to follow the man. Kim stepped into the small house, taking Shego with her; the raven-haired female was leaning on the vampire because of her wound. Once the ladies were inside, the man eased the door shut; the hinges creaked a bit as he did so.

The house was dimly lit, which did not bother the ladies at all. Kim preferred darkness anyway. The probably alchemist walked passed them and went to an arm chair right there in the den, which was the front room in the house, sitting down and facing them.

"So, you got the philosopher's stone or what?" Shego huffed with a frown tugging her mouth into a mean scowl. The man gave her a disinterested look as a response.

"Shego," Kim scolded her companion, cutting her eyes at the older woman.

"What?" she practically barked, snapping her head to the side in annoyance.

"Well, you know the saying that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar?" the redhead asked curiously. She was fairly certain that Shego had never heard the axiom in her life with the way that she was acting right now.

"What the fuck does that have to do with anything?" the green-skinned woman countered, wanting to throw her hands up to show how irked she was, but she could not make such a motion without hurting herself further.

"Shego."

"I don't need you speaking in riddles right now. This chump has the philosopher's stone and that's what's going to turn you back to normal. So, he needs to just give it up before I break my foot off in his ass!" Shego declared, turning her attention back to the man since he was really the person that needed to know physical harm would be imminent if he pissed her off by not giving into her.

Kim turned and offered the man a sheepish grin as an apology for her companion's behavior. "Sorry, she's kinda cranky because we had a rough trip over here."

"It's all right. She's entertaining. I don't get much in the way of visitors and the ones I do get are almost never rude like this," he remarked with a light laugh as a small, amused smile settled onto his face. "When you've lived as long as I have, you tend to brush things off, knowing how fleeting this world really is," he added with a shrug. He supposed that it helped that he was in a bit of a good mood.

"Excuse me?" Kim asked with an arched eyebrow. He did not look that old to her. She decided to examine him with her other senses. All evidence pointed to a normal adult male, probably in his early thirties. His blood even smelled sweet, which she found was not the cause with any very elderly people.

"Come now, if you've come looking for the philosopher's stone, surely you must know," he commented and then he leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. He studied Kim for a moment and then smiled slightly. "But, you don't know, do you? Maybe your friend here is actually being selfish," he stated while glancing over at the older woman.

"Fuck you, you bastard," Shego countered forcefully, immediately getting what he was implying. "The stone's for her, not me."

He made an intrigued face. "Oh?" His eyes shifted to the left for a moment. "I've heard that before. Friends come here looking to have the stone for another and yet somehow, the only thing that happens is broken friendships," he commented in quite the skeptical tone. Friendship was not something he was inclined to believe in when it came to those that were seeking the stone.

Shego's frown was turning into a scowl. "Well, that wasn't us. I need the stone for her. I want to cure her," she informed him with conviction in her voice. Like hell she was going to stand there and let him just call "bullshit" on her like that!

His face lit up with intrigue again. "Oh? Cure her of what exactly?" he asked curiously as his face settled back into one of skepticism. Many, many people had sought him out through the ages for cures to all sorts of diseases. Sometimes, they were genuine cases and other times they just used it as a sob story to try to gain the stone. He wondered which category they fell into.

"The fucking chicken pox," Shego said sarcastically. "Just show us the stone."

"I don't think I'll do that," he replied in a calm, even tone. "I might be able to do something about that cut in your abdomen, though," he proposed as if that was nothing.

Shego turned her mouth up, as if she was offended by the offer, as if her stomach was not hurting like hell and it was not taking a lot of will power just to remain conscious. Kim seemed to sense those things, though. She glanced at her cohort and then back to the man.

"Could you please get her something?" Kim requested very politely, concern shining through her olive eyes. "It'll probably help her disposition," she added to let him know that Shego was not always so ill-mannered and cranky…well, not _as_ cranky anyway.

"This I have to see," he remarked with a small smile as he got up from his seat.

Shego growled like an angry dog as he disappeared into the back of his house; he blocked her view of anything by shouting a door in the next room as he went through it. Kim turned her attention to her companion and rubbed her shoulder, looking to comfort Shego some. The green-skinned woman recognized the move.

"Don't think this'll get you laid in the woods when this is all said and done," the emerald-eyed felon quipped in a teasing tone. She knew that Kim was not touching her to seduce her, but she would rather make a joke at the moment. She figured that bitchy humor would block out the pain better than loving comfort, but she was starting to think that nothing was going to keep her from thinking about how being stabbed in the stomach hurt like a motherfucker! It throbbed and burned, like having acid thrown on her.

"_We'll_ get laid in the woods some other time. Right now, I just want you to be okay," Kim countered in a gentle, loving tone. She even leaned over and kissed her companion's cheek with the hope that it would help.

Shego grunted; yeah, sweet words and gestures were not taking the agony away. Kim continued to caress Shego's shoulder and she also leaned over to nuzzle her face in Shego's neck. The pale woman did not worry about Kim biting her; she trusted Kim to realize that she was in no shape to donate at the moment.

The man, whose name the ladies had not caught yet, returned to them while Kim was busy with her face buried in Shego's neck. He watched them for a moment since they did not seem to notice him. He thought it was a bit interesting that the redhead was trying to comfort her cranky friend in such a way.

He guessed tat they were more than friends, but that did not mean much to him. He had witnessed lovers betray each other just as easily as friends. He had seen lovers run out on each other just easily as friends too. He wondered how things would play out with them.

"You might find this works a little better," he remarked, holding up a clear liquid that was contained in a small jar.

Kim slowly pulled away from Shego at the sound of his voice. She felt no shame in being caught comforting her lover. The older female had the nerve to look annoyed that he had interrupted them, even if he was offering something to take the pain away.

"What do I do with it? Just pour it on her wound?" Kim asked as she took the container from the man.

"Couldn't hurt," he remarked with a shrug.

The redheaded vampire turned her attention to Shego, asking silently with her eyes if she should trust the man and use the liquid. Shego nodded her consent; if his elixir for her wound proved effective then she would believe in his ability to create the philosopher's stone all the more. Kim was about to open Shego's shirt when she recalled that the man was in their presence.

"Um…do you think you could give us a little privacy, mister…?" Kim trailed off, finally realizing that he never introduced himself.

"Oh, that's right. What name am I going by this year?" he pondered aloud, appearing genuinely forgetful. He put his finger to his chin as he tried to recall the information that she wanted. "It's probably something utterly silly. Perhaps I should just make one up," he stated frivolously.

Kim glanced at Shego, who glanced back. From those antics, they were starting to consider that the man did not have all of his marbles. They did not voice that, though. After all, he might not be totally crazy and he could possibly cure Kim.

"Call me 'Bill' for the moment," he told them after almost a minute of thinking.

"Bill?" they both deadpanned, expressions dropping almost through the floor. Oh, great, they both thought. Their hope of curing Kim was relaying on a man who could not remember his name and came up with just about the least imaginative pseudonym that they had ever heard.

"Yes, Bill. I rather like that one and haven't used it yet," he told them quite seriously. "One would think that after having watched so many millennia go by I would have used it by now."

"Millennia? Are you saying you've been around for thousands of years?" the redhead inquired in disbelief. She made sure to be respectful while asking that, but she was really finding things hard to believe.

"Oh, yes. But, that's another discussion. You should tend to your friend's wounds," he pointed out.

They watched as "Bill" walked back into the other room, shutting the door behind him again. Kim had to make sure he was out of sight and the door was completely closed before even thinking about taking care of Shego. If he tried to sneak a peek, he would find himself in serious pain seconds later. Luckily for him, he continued on his way, making himself scarce.

"Should we trust him?" Shego wondered aloud. She had heard things about the man, but she had not expected him to be such a…well, an ass. Yeah, he was just an ass in her opinion, and she found it hard to believe that he had anything to do with the legendary item she hunted.

"I don't think he was lying," Kim answered. Everything about him—his scent, his tone, his body language—remained the same through out speaking, even when he gave them the healing liquid.

Shego nodded in agreement with that assessment; in spite of her bitching she did not think he was lying either. She had to support her own weight as Kim kindly took her shirt off for her; it was a button-down black shirt. Thankfully, this was one of the very, _very _few times when, in the past seven years, seeing Shego's bare skin did not cause Kim to say or do something lecherous.

The redhead carefully pulled Shego's body at a slight angle to pour the liquid on. The raven-haired woman jumped slightly when the elixir hit her skin; it was freezing cold. She bit her lip to avoid making a noise; she did not want to chance "Bill" being some kind of pervert and rushing back in because she made a sound.

Kim only poured half of the liquid of Shego's wound because she could see that it was working already. She did not want to overcompensate, considering Shego's healing factor. She resisted the urge to rub her face in Shego's toned tummy when she saw that the cut was actually closing. There would be time for that later in their own home, she reminded herself.

"Good to see you've got some self-control left, Kimmie," Shego remarked, as if she knew exactly what the vampire was thinking.

Kim had the nerve to smile innocently. It might have worked seven or eight years ago, but now it only made Shego believe that she actually had not touched the exact level of perverseness that Kim was thinking on. Damn lecherous vampire, she cursed in her head.

"So, how do you feel?" the younger female asked curiously as her companion started putting her shirt back on.

"A lot better," Shego admitted while rubbing the edges of her wound, which had already healed.

"I hope it doesn't leave a mark," Kim said with concern.

"You know, it's creepy sometimes, the way you think of my body as your own personal toy," the older woman remarked, teasing for the most part.

"Hey, that's not how I see you and you know it!" the redhead huffed, puffing out her cheeks and folding her arms across her chest.

Shego chuckled a bit, getting a kick out of seeing Kim flustered. She supposed that she was already feeling better mood-wise because she felt the urge to caress Kim instead of saying something snippy. She did not resist that urge and reached out, rubbing the top of Kim's head. She had to fight off a smile as she felt the soft fiery mane under her fingertips.

"Can I back in or should I leave you two to your moment?" their host asked from the other room, cracking the door for them to hear him, but not enough to where he could see them.

"You better not be peeking, you perverted old man," Shego barked, even though she knew that he was minding his own business.

"One has to take what he can get when he lives alone in the woods," "Bill" remarked as he made his way back into the front room. He wore a small, teasing smile on his rather smooth face.

Kim and Shego were a bit surprised by the way "Bill" was able to go toe-to-toe with Shego's snaps. He did not flinch at all when she spoke or take time to think, just hitting her right back when she was done. It was almost impressive.

"Whatever. Let's get back to the business at hand. I know you've got the philosopher's stone. What do you want for it?" Shego inquired in a very business-like tone. Well, at least she was not nearly as bitchy now as she was before, he and Kim thought.

"What makes you think I have it?" the brunette male countered curiously. It was almost as if he was teasing, but he was trying his best to sound serious.

"Don't screw with me. What do you want for it?! I'll give you money, more money than you can fucking imagine," Shego informed him forcefully. She had her own fortune, which she had stolen in her years as a villain and she doubted that it would take much more time to steal another fortune. She would get him as much money as he could ever want as long as he cured her princess.

"Bill" could not help laughing it seemed; the sound was light and loud. "I've lived for over three thousand years. Don't you think I have money by now?" he asked her with amusement dancing in his coffee-colored eyes.

Shego frowned; he made a point. She had been told that money would mean nothing to him, but she had to make sure. Money was second only to breaking stuff when it came to solutions to problems on her list, and she had come in knowing that breaking stuff was not going to get her anywhere.

"So, what do you want in exchange for the stone?" Shego inquired in a guarded tone. She did not want him to think that he could have _anything_ for the stone.

"Bill" appeared thoughtful for a moment, putting his index finger to the side of his head. He eyed Shego, but his gaze did not stay on her long. His eyes drifted to Kim and he started to appear curious; his eyebrow lifted slightly and his eyes seemed to light up a little. Shego frowned and stepped in front of her vampire companion.

"You can't have her," Shego quickly informed him in a hard voice.

"I don't want her. I am curious, though. I've seen many things in my life, which is what leads me to ask. She's a vampire, isn't she?" His eyebrow was now almost touching his hairline.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" the pale woman countered in a defensive tone, not moving from in front of Kim. A frown worked its way back to her moss-hued face.

"So, what exactly do you want to cure this young vampire of?" he asked with an intrigued eyebrow in the air. He had a feeling he knew and he suspected that they were going to be very disappointed soon enough. The extent of that disappointed would dictate if he would be able to get back to his own evening soon or not.

Shego huffed, folding her arms across her chest in a defensive manner. She glared icy daggers at him, as if trying to slay his soul. It was like he offended her by asking that question, he noted.

"Bill" laughed again. "You think the philosopher's stone can cure her of being a vampire? You'd have better luck trying the Holy Grail," he told her, still chuckling a bit and completely succeeding in pissing the green-skinned woman off.

"I've looked for it. It doesn't exist," she answered with an annoyed and angry growl.

"Bill" seemed surprised by that response and his mirth was suddenly gone, replaced with a stunned look. She had searched for the Holy Grail? He studied her face and saw that she was dead serious in her assertion. Hmm, the little vampire had to mean a lot to her, he concluded. Still, he would have to burst their little bubble.

"No, it doesn't exist. The legend of the Grail was a little concoction that came about when Christianity gained in popularity. It's a play off of the stone since the 'stone' can be made in a liquid form. So, it's kind of like the liquid stone being in the cup to cure all illness, but then again, if the liquid stone was in _any_ cup it would cure any illness. Interesting that you think the stone could 'cure' your friend here," he commented, giving away that information as if it was something that he talked about everyday.

"Can't it?" Kim asked, sounding hopeful while remaining behind Shego since she knew that was where the older woman wanted her. She did not want to add to Shego's upset state while they were taking care of very serious business.

"The stone could no more cure you of being a vampire than it could cure a caterpillar of being a butterfly," he answered nonchalantly.

"What do you mean?" the redhead inquired, trying her best to keep her tone even. Her heart was sinking in her chest, ready to fall to her feet. She was so close to a cure, only to find out that it was not a cure. That was not fair! Shego had searched so hard and now nothing was going to happen! She was almost ready to cry.

Shego was feeling close to the same. Her heart was clenching in her chest while her brain was trying to tell her that he was lying. It did not make any sense that the philosopher's stone could not cure her Kimmie. She just refused to believe it.

"The stone could no more cure you of what you are now than it could cure a caterpillar when it becomes a butterfly. It wouldn't be able to go back to being a caterpillar, ever," he explained, still sounding so casual, even though he could tell that he was crushing their dreams.

The ladies looked shocked, like they could be bowled over with feathers. The legendary philosopher's stone could not cure Kim? If that was the case, what could cure her? What could the stone do? What good was the stone if it could not give Kim her humanity back? How could it not turn Kim back? It was the philosopher's stone for crying out loud; it could change lead into gold. It could keep that the annoying man before them alive for over three thousand years, Shego yelled in her mind. It had to be able to do something!

"But…it changes things…" Shego pointed out, sounding weak because she was having trouble finding her voice thanks to the shock of his words. She looked so hard for the stupid stone because it changed things!

"Things that aren't alive. On living matter the stone has a totally different effect. Let's take me for example. As the loud one whose name I haven't bothered to catch yet pointed out—" he was cut off.

"Shego," the green-skinned woman stated sharply with a deep frown. It was like she was trying to disembowel him with her name.

"Yes, Shego, right. And the vampire?" he asked, eyes going to the redhead.

"Kim," she offered.

"Okay, well, I've been around for about three thousand years. You stop keeping count after a while, you'll find out about that. The stone turns human beings immortal by extending life to its full potential. It makes a person live to their full potential, takes the body to its full potential. It won't change you from a vampire to a human, just like it wouldn't change you from a human to a vampire. That's not how things work," he explained calmly.

"Then how the fuck do things work?!" Shego roared in a rage, hands flexing as if she planned to attack him. Slender hands taking her own prevented her from flying off the handle and checking to see just how immortal "Bill" was. She glanced back at Kim, whose eyes were focused on their host.

"I've explained how they work. I can't help. Good night," he said as if everything was fine. He had the nerve to wave at them, which only pissed Shego off more.

"Don't fucking dismiss us! Do you have any fucking clue what we've been through to get to this point?! Do you know how long we've tried for this?! This is the closest we've been to a cure in seven years and I will not be brushed off by a short bastard that probably only wants to go watch fucking porno!" the super-powered woman hollered while trying to step toward him, but Kim was holding her back. Damn vampire strength! She hated it when Kim's strength proved enough to overpower her and kept her from using violence to solve their problems.

"Why shouldn't I dismiss you? I don't have anything for you and even if I did, you wouldn't be able to pay me," he informed them in a casual tone, making a meaningless hand gesture toward them to make things seem even more inconsequential to him.

"How the hell do you know that?! Name your fucking price!" Shego ordered, baring her teeth in a fury.

"Why? That would be pointless. I've got nothing for you. I told you, the philosopher's stone won't help her," he stated again, motioning to Kim.

"How the fuck do you know!" Shego hollered with a snarl for good measure.

Kim sighed, knowing that her companion's mood was not helping and she knew it would only get worse if "Bill" continued acting the way that he was. She squeezed Shego's hand with hers, causing the older woman to turn to look at her. Kim offered her just a gentle look before stepping out from behind Shego.

"Look, sir, have you ever tried using the philosopher's stone to cure vampirism? I mean, you say that the legend of the Holy Grail came about because the stone can be a liquid too. Well, it's said the Grail can cure any sickness. That had to come from somewhere, maybe from the stone's legend, which you kinda said could cure any sickness," Kim reasoned in a soft tone, hoping to appease the man if Shego managed to offend him.

"Bill" nodded. "I get what you're saying, but I know how the stone works. I've been an alchemist all my life, after all," he pointed out.

"Well, how many times have you actually made the stone?" the redhead asked curiously.

"Bill" was silent and looked away. "Once."

Shego scoffed. "Some fucking expert alchemist."

And Shego finally succeeded in insulting the man. "You have no clue how hard it is to do it once! Only a handful of us have managed it! Do you know how impossible it is to make the stone?" he demanded to know.

"No more than you know about what we've been through," Kim pointed out, still keeping her cool.

"So, what're you, too much of a fuck-up to try it again?" Shego asked "Bill" rather bluntly.

"Bill" frowned deeply. "I don't think you're in a position to call me a fuck-up considering your foolish search to cure a vampire of something that's not even a disease," he countered in his own harsh tone.

"It is a disease!" Shego insisted.

"Cancer is a disease. Vampirism is merely a description of the change a human went through to become another being. She's been changed and that's it. Face it and accept it," he snapped.

Shego chimed in as soon as he was done. "I won't! I promised to cure her and I won't leave here without the fucking philosopher's stone! So unless you want two loud ass roommates for the rest of your disgusting life, you better get started on making that fucking stone!" she commanded.

"Bill" was taken aback by her passion, but refused to let up. "The stone won't do anything for her."

"How the hell do you know that? You've only made the damn thing once. I want to see for myself that this shit won't help her," the green-skinned woman informed him soundly.

"And you?" he asked curiously since Kim had gone silent while they were arguing. "What's wrong with being a vampire? Why do you want to be cured so badly? You're immortal now," he pointed out.

"Yeah, immortal," the redhead scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Meaning I get to watch everyone I know and care about die. I'm a vampire, meaning I can't go into the sun, I need fresh human blood to stay alive, I'm being hunted by people I thought were my friends, and I'm just a danger to Shego no matter what. I mean, between people hunting me and the fact that I might one day just snap, she could get hurt one day, like tonight, except it might be worst one day," Kim explained without shame.

"Princess…" Shego said in a low, almost confused voice. She knew that Kim thought such things, but to hear it said aloud just sent a lot of her emotions in a spiral. She did not know which emotion to reign, but the gentle, loving side of her that seemed to come out full force only for her companion won out. "You'd never hurt me. You'd never snap and I'm here to protect you from anyone that comes after you," she reminded Kim.

"I know, but still, there's the possibility. Besides, no matter what, one day, you're going to…well, you know, just like everyone else. I want a chance to spend time with you without us having to worry about running from GJ or vampires or anything. I know it's a lot to ask for, but I want us to be able to just be together for a while without all of the insanity, and I think the best chance for that is me being cured."

Shego looked down at the redheaded vampire. "Kimmie…" she whispered in a touched tone. It never occurred to her that one of the reasons Kim wanted to be cured was so that they would be able to spend time together without all of the usual chaos. And to think, she spent all that time worrying that Kim would leave her once she was cured.

"I don't want to be without you, Shego. I mean, I don't even like the thought of it, so I want to be normal again to make things better between the two of us, as well as everything else," Kim explained.

Shego felt a very warm feeling spread through out her body; it was like the blessed rays of the summer sun. She could not control her arms as they wrapped around Kim and she did not want to. Kim returned the embrace while Shego buried her head in Kim's red-orange mane. The vampire nuzzled her face in Shego's neck.

"Bill" looked on and could not help loosening up some. He could not quite believe the genuine and pure scene that was before him. He had developed quite an eye in his three millennia of life and he knew that he was looking at something that went way beyond love. He sighed softly as Kim's words registered something in his own heart.

"The life of an immortal…" the alchemist started, gaining the pair's attention. "It is a hard and lonely existence," he admitted.

"I can imagine," the redhead commented. She could not imagine living three thousand years like he did, especially all alone. It was not fair. She would get thirty to maybe fifty years with her parents, fifty to seventy years with Ron, and sixty to eighty years with her brothers, all depending on how advanced medicine became as the years pressed on; it also depended on no accidents taking place. And sure, she was not sure how many years she could possibly have with Shego considering her powers, but nothing would be long enough. Even a hundred years seemed like it would be a blink of an eye if she actually lived for three thousand years. She would eventually just die of despair, which she supposed would be for the better.

"I doubt you could. It's worse than anything your mind can come up with," "Bill" assured the vampire. His eyes suddenly became solemn and his voice was low due to emotion. "I've seen a lot in my years. Gained and lost so many things I can barely remember the earlier ones. But, I can tell you this, the pain that courses through you each time you lose something dear to you, it is always the same, especially if it's a person. Making matters worse, some days, you'll be minding your own business and something will jumpstart your memory and you'll remember a loved one so strongly that it cripples you for a day or more. Eventually, you close yourself off and the world becomes a shadow to you. You don't want anything to love, except for things that can never leave you, like science."

"Vampires don't make it seem like that," Kim mumbled, thinking back to Adrian. She shuddered, which Shego felt, so she held Kim tighter. The hug was reassuring and the redhead ceased to tremble.

"Vampires tend to adapt differently, taking hostages to ease their eternal suffering. At least for a little while," he pointed out. "They tend to lose their hearts quickly, buying into the fact that a vampire is nothing more than a predator and higher than every other being on the planet."

Kim and Shego could attest to that fact. They merely nodded in agreement with him. "Bill" sighed again.

"I could make the stone for you, but the key component is making the ingredients hot enough. It's almost impossible to do," the alchemist informed the duo.

"Heat is not a problem," Shego assured him as she held out one hand and ignited it. Kim hid in the older woman's shoulder from the emerald flame.

"Bill" looked taken aback by her ability. He had to blink once before he could even speak again. "How'd you do that?" he asked while leaning forward to examine her amazing talent.

"I had a little accident when I was a child," she remarked while putting her hand out. "I can go as hot as you'd like if all you need is a touch of fire."

"Well, there's also a matter of payment," he reminded Shego.

"What do you want?" the raven-haired woman inquired.

"You came here seeking me and the stone, so I'm guessing someone told you about me. I'm sure they suggested what kinds of things I take as payment," he countered.

Shego frowned at his vague response. He smiled, enjoying getting to her, from what they could tell anyway. She had been told what kinds of payments he took for his alchemic works. He did more than make the philosopher's stone, after all.

"What do you want?" she repeated, her annoyance sneaking into her voice.

"What do you have?" he asked since she was being difficult. She just repeated her question again. He sighed and figured he would gauge what she was willing to put up with. "Perhaps you'll part with some vampire blood that I could study," he suggested.

"To hell with that. Kimmie's not an experiment," she answered soundly.

"I just want some of her blood."

Kim was almost ready to give it, but her companion did not let her. "No deal. She's not a fucking lab rat," Shego said, making a cutting motion with her hand to emphasize her stance on the matter. She was not going to let anyone touch Kim like those bastards at GJ kept doing. Day and day out, they would have Kim down in that lab, testing her and lying to her about looking for a cure. Who the hell knew they were really looking for, but they were not doing anything for Kim. They just wanted to know exactly how a vampire worked; well, Kim was no clock to be dismantled to find out what made her tick, not anymore.

"Well, what about you? I'd like the blood of someone who can make fire with her hands. Not to mention has such…exotic skin," he commented.

Shego frowned, but Kim replied for her. "Fuck you. Shego's not some science project," she said with a passion. After living through what GJ put her through and seeing them trying to do the same to Shego, she was not willing to let anyone even consider studying her cohort.

"Bill" chuckled. "Your overprotective nature for each other is almost endearing, but what will you give me in return?"

Shego continued to frown, even though she felt rather good about herself on the inside since Kim stood up for her. She then released her fond hold on Kim for a few seconds to go into her pocket. She then pulled out what appeared to be an ordinary rock.

"Here," Shego said, shoving the rock toward "Bill."

"You're going to pay me with a rock?" he asked incredulously while looking down at the stone.

"Moron. It's not any old rock. It's a piece of the meteor that gave me the green skin and the ability to create plasma. It's given out a lot of other things. I've been carrying it with me," she vaguely explained.

"Why?"

"None of your fucking business. Just take the stupid space rock and start making the philosopher's stone. It'll give you something to study for a good long time and I guarantee you, it's rarer than any vampire blood you'll ever find," she replied. She had seen and met dozens of vampires in her life, but had only come across one comet handing out super powers, after all.

"Bill" considered her words. He would have a piece of a meteor that gave someone superpowers? It seemed tempting, but he needed more information to make sure it was worth it.

"What, exactly, has this rock given you?" he asked while inspecting the stone in his grip.

"I don't know the extent, but like I said, the skin, the plasma, claws for fingernails, to name a few things. My brother got purple skin out of the deal with hair to match. My other brothers got red eyes while my big brother got blue hair. We all have a glow, but theirs is more of a body glow while mine just does my hands, although I can heat my whole body with the plasma charge. They all have powers, before you ask. We all got accelerated healing abilities out of the deal, which we kinda figured had something to do with the base of whatever gave us our powers, but we never figured it out for sure. Enough now, or do you wanna know what it's like going through life being a family of freaks too?" she inquired with a resentful attitude. Her stance was tenser than ever before and her frown seemed like it could set the house on fire with its intensity.

"Bill" managed to ignore her expression, but he did consider her tone. "That's unnecessary. How many brothers and what're their powers?"

"Four brothers. The twins have the same power, which is a red glow that lets them make clones. The purple brother has a purple glow and he shrinks himself. The eldest has a blue glow that gives him super-strength," she explained in a bland tone that let Kim know it was painful for her to talk about. Shego typically put on a certain bored tone when she did not want to talk about something.

Kim knew that Shego missed her brothers, even if she was not looking to admit it. Shego never talked about them, but there was a look in her eyes that took over whenever Kim spoke on her family. Shego's silence on the matter also let Kim know that it affected her because she just refused to talk about them.

"Bill" nodded; it certainly sounded intriguing. "Fine. I'll take the little rock then. So, shall we begin?" he asked curiously.

"How long will this take?" Shego countered. She had to have Kim some place safe by sunrise.

"Not long at all. Being an alchemist, just because I fail at making the philosopher's stone almost every time I try doesn't mean I stop trying. I've got all the ingredients here already. I just need to mix them and for you to heat them to the proper temperature if you can. After that, we'll have the stone, but I won't guarantee you anything beyond that."

"It's worth a try."

"Then let's begin."

Kim and Shego waited while he went to the back of the house, which was where his lab was. They went back to holding each other, assured by the other's presence that they were not in some crazy dream. They were the closest that they had ever been to a cure and they were keeping each other grounded by holding onto each other.

"You didn't have to…" Kim said in a low tone.

"What?" Shego asked.

"Tell him about your brothers."

"I had to convince him to take the stupid rock. It's no big deal. Not like I'm worried about him trying to go after my brothers. As stupid as they are, they can take care of themselves," the older woman explained as nonchalantly as possible. It went by her that she just implied that she cared about her brothers by giving them such a vote of confidence and having faith in them.

"Is that really part of the meteor?"

"Yup. Carried it around since the stupid thing hit. I don't really know why, but we all do. Sentiment is a weird thing."

"Sorry you had to give yours up," the redhead apologized.

"Idiot, if it'll help get you back to normal, I'll give up damn near anything…anything that you'll let me anyway," she remarked, knowing there were limits to what she could offer to anyone with a potential cure.

Kim smirked slightly. "Well, certain things aren't yours to give away."

"There you go again making it sound like my body is your toy."

Kim smiled now. "Not my toy, but you are mine. Just like I'm yours."

"All mine," Shego concurred with a content smile of her own. "Um…were you serious when you said you want us to spend more time together when you're normal?" she asked, just to be sure. She wanted to be certain that she was not going to be alone for the rest of her life.

"Doy. You think I was just gonna up and leave you when this was all said and done?" Kim asked, and the look in Shego's eyes told her the answer to that. "You actually thought I'd just run off and leave you?" the redhead asked, almost hurt by the very idea.

"Not thought…just feared," Shego confessed in a low tone, looking away for a moment.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere. Like I said, you're mine and I'm yours. We're stuck together now," Kim remarked, grabbing the elder female into another tight, loving embrace.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Shego answered truthfully while returning the hug.

--------------

Apparently "not long at all" was a relative term, especially when dealing with a guy that was three thousand years old. They suspected that he might have been using a sundial to keep time considering how long he was gone. It was getting close to sunrise and "Bill" still had not come to for Shego to heat the mixture. Kim was nodding off, which was a clear sign that the sun was due for an appearance sometime soon. And to make matters worse, there did not seem to be a place for Shego to put her vampire friend when the star decided to come out for the day.

"Maybe we should go home," Shego suggested from her space on the floor next to Kim, who was leaning on her shoulder.

"Come back tomorrow night?" Kim asked, fighting off a yawn.

"Yeah," she answered, even though it went against her nature to pay for something and not leave the place with the purchased product.

"Hey, you two still out there?" the alchemist finally called.

"Yeah, enjoying your shitty service," Shego remarked.

"Bill" did not say anything. He walked out into the front where he had left his guests so many hours ago. He was holding a pan containing a pile of fine red powder; he held the pan by a wooden handle and also had gloves on.

"It's your time to shine, fire-girl. Let's see just how hot you can make this," he challenged her.

Shego climbed to her feet, leaving Kim to fall over on the floor, which woke the vampire up. Shego ignited one hand under the pan and waited for something to happen. When the powder remained as it was, "Bill" ordered her to make it hotter. The order came several times and Shego broke out into a sweat as she started forcing her body to create blazing plasma. She eventually put her other hand under the pan.

"Oh, now we're seeing some action," the scientist commented as the dust he was holding started to smoke.

"How much longer do I have to do this?" Shego asked through gritted teeth.

"Until it changes states," he answered as if it was obvious.

"What the hell kinda answer is that?" she huffed. "I can't keep this up forever you know and I gotta get Kimmie home soon."

"You do a lot of complaining for someone that wants the stone so badly."

Shego's anger and her hands flared at his remark. "Bill" chuckled a little as the powder was covered in smoke now. He gave Shego the word that she could cease, which she was glad to do. She felt wiped out from that five minute exhibition of her powers.

"Bill" did not say anything and walked off. Shego did not even have the strength to yell anything to him. She sat back down next to Kim and ended up leaning on the vampire instead of the other way around. As soon as Shego made herself comfortable, "Bill" came back with two small test tubes that held scarlet liquids.

"Just what you ladies ordered," he informed them. He was impressed that Shego had changed the powder into a liquid. When he first created the stone, it had been a clump, a stone, because that form required less heat energy. Shego had changed his chemicals into the purest form, though. He was glad that he took that meteor fragment as payment now because he could not wait to study the thing that gave Shego such amazing powers.

"Is that going to be enough?" Kim asked curiously as she stood up to go meet him halfway across the room. There did not seem to be more than a tablespoon of liquid in each tube.

"More than enough," he assured her.

"Good. Drink it before the sun comes up and this whole thing is for nothing," Shego ordered in a tired tone. She needed Kim back to normal so the redhead could help her back home if they were going to get there at all.

"Drink up," he urged Kim while handing her one vial. He then walked over to Shego and handed her the other.

"What're you doing? I don't need a fucking cure," the raven-haired woman huffed, thinking he was implying her powers were a disease.

"That's not why I'm giving it to you. This one is for your friend. You think about it if you want to drink it or not," he informed her.

"Why would I drink it if it's for her?"

"There's little chance that the stone's going to cure her vampirism. Think about that and then figure out if you want to drink this or not," he told her.

Shego seemed to get what he was implying and she blinked hard. She turned her attention to Kim. The vampire was sniffing at the liquid, probably checking it if was blood considering the color. Kim turned to Shego and smiled at her.

"Here's to hope," Kim said, holding the tube up like it was a wine glass.

Yeah, that was all it was, a hope. "Bill" seemed quite certain that the stone was not going to help Kim the way that they wanted. Meaning at the end of it all, Kim would still be a vampire and still destined to be alone in the world one day. So, the second drink seemed to be to avoid that destiny. Shego tilted her own tube to Kim's. The two then downed their drinks.

Both ladies waited, expecting to feel something…anything, but there was nothing. It was as if they had just drunk punch. Shego was almost certain that she had been cheated until Kim clutched her stomach in pain. A jolt of agony raced through Shego, too; both females collapsed to the dusty floor. "Bill" merely watched.

"I forgot it hurts that much," he commented to himself while watching the pair writhe on the floor. He could only wonder what exact changes were going on with them since neither woman was entirely human. He was pretty sure that no matter what, it would be quite the amazing thing to see. He just had to wait for them to stop convulsing on his floor.

--------------

Next time: has Kim been cured?


	6. Dawn

I don't own these characters.

6: Dawn

"Damn it, you bastard!" Shego roared while pointing a threatening claw at "Bill," their friendly neighborhood alchemist. He might have been inclined to be a bit afraid if only Shego was not convulsing in pain on his floor right now.

"What did you do to us?" Kim demanded to know, curled up in a tight ball on the floor some feet away from Shego. Her face was tense and knotted up from the sheer agony coursing through her. She had not felt such intense pain in years, not since Adrian anyway.

"Let the stone take its course before sounding so angry," the alchemist replied calmly, smiling a bit as he spoke. It was like he was enjoying their suffering, which they would have noticed and yelled about if only they were not doubled over in pain.

Kim and Shego continued to writhe in dire agony on the surprisingly warm floor. They both scratched at the wood with their talons, digging into deeply. Shego shouted obscenities to the floor while Kim howled to the ceiling. "Bill" just watched them, arms folded across his chest as if he did not have a care in the world.

"Fuck!" Shego growled while reaching down to clutch her stomach, which felt like it was burning and being tied in knots at the same time.

Kim just roared, her fangs on display like they would be if she were a snarling, furious lion. She put a hand over her heart and was close to tearing at her clothing, wanting the pain to stop. In the back of her mind, her ears were picking up the sounds of fleeing animals in the nearby woods and she knew that it was because of the noise that she and her partner were making.

"Don't worry. It'll pass soon," the alchemist assured them. His voice was still calm and his eyes were close to amused.

They could not even respond to that as agony jolted through their systems as if they were continuously being struck by lightning. They both clenched their teeth together, looking to at least stop screaming, but it hurt so much! The most that they could do was glare at the decided bastard.

After a while, the pain did ease; it felt like a burning, endless eternity to the pair. Their screams turned to coughs, which then turned to groans. The groans turned into deep breaths as they tried to gather themselves from that wild ride.

"What the fuck did you do to us?" Shego demanded to know through heavy breaths, still settled on the floor. She was resting on her hands and knees, sweat dripping off of her thanks to the intense trip through agony alley.

"You know what I did. You think cleansing your body comes with nothing? You've got to go through a lot get the most out of yourself. Some people don't even live through the process, so be happy you're still here," "Bill" informed the pissed off green-skinned female.

"Bullshit," Shego complained bitterly, although she could see how people might die experiencing such huge shots of continuous agony for minutes on end. It had taken all of her willpower not to pass out. Like hell she was going to lose consciousness with a strange man in the room, especially if it meant that she would be leaving Kim on her own.

"Such skeptical creatures," he commented with a sigh while rolling his eyes.

Kim grimaced slightly as she tried to sit up. She understood what he was talking about more than Shego did because she remembered the sharp, horrible pain that had gone through her body when she had been changed into a vampire. That pain was etched into her nerve endings as a permanent memory and since then she had mentally, usually on a subconscious level, compared all physical pain to it; the philosopher's stone agony ranked right up there with the vampire pain.

Shego might have understood what "Bill" was talking about if she thought back to being hit with that meteor when she was younger. Not that it would have helped much since she had not been conscious long enough back then to consider how much everything hurt. She had also been in a coma for a week after the fact.

"I don't want to do that again," the redhead muttered while shaking her head, trying to dispel a pounding in her brain. There was a thin layer of sweat on her body as well because of the waves of agony that rode through her.

"Me either," Shego agreed as she took a moment to look up.

The raven-haired woman was about to start yelling at the alchemist again, even though she finally felt like all of the pain was gone. But, something else caught her attention, something very important: the sun was up. The alchemist was not even on her mind now.

"Kimmie!" Shego cried as she turned her eyes to the hero and her mouth practically hit the ground in sheer terror. The sun's rays were resting on Kim.

"Huh?" Kim asked in a bewildered tone because she did not notice what Shego had. She was too busy being glad that the pain had completely passed and then she took notice of her predicament. Her eyes nearly fell out of her skull as she finally realized what was going on. She yelped and backed away as fast she could, retreating in a corner faster than she even thought she could move.

Shego breathed a sigh of relief, but continued to watch Kim with anxious eyes. Kim stared down at her arm with wide, fearful eyes. It was as if she was waiting for it to burn off, or at least tingle. But, all it did was feel caressed by the sunlight that was not even shining on her anymore. The redhead was puzzled and crawled back toward the light.

"Kimmie!" Shego repeated in a horrified tone when she saw what the younger female was doing.

"Calm down," Kim replied in a low voice as she experimentally stuck her hand out into the light. She marveled at how wonderful the sun could feel.

Shego was shocked when she saw that her companion was not bursting into flames. She crawled over to Kim and took her hand, interlacing their fingers. She looked just as amazed as Kim since the redhead was not dying.

"Did it work?" Kim wondered aloud, eyes fixed on her hand in her companion's hand.

"I think so," Shego breathed the hope out. She had to resist the urge to pull Kim to her, hug her, kiss her, and just be thankful that they were finally out of the dark woods of her vampirism.

"Don't get ahead of yourselves, ladies," the alchemist warned them. Sure, Kim was not being killed from the sunlight, but he was not ready to concede that he had been wrong in his assumption about the stone's powers.

"What do you mean? The sun didn't kill her. She's gotta be cured!" Shego actually grinned. She yanked Kim to her and embraced the redhead tightly, which lead to something that disproved her statement.

Kim inhaled, taking in Shego's usual scent, which included smelling Shego's blood. It smelled just as good as always and Kim's stomach growled, signaling that she was hungry, which more than likely was due to all of the fighting that night, not to mention the other physical and emotional strain. And then her fangs grew out, ready to feed, which caused her to gasp.

"No, no, no!" Kim said while pulling away. She balled her hands into fists while shaking her head back and forth.

Shego went into a panic. "What's wrong, Princess?" she inquired as she tried to pull Kim back to her, but found that the redhead still had the strength to resist her if necessary, that same old inhuman strength that came from being a vampire.

"I still have the craving!" Kim cried while hiding her face in her hands, showing that she still had claws for nails.

"She's still a vampire," Shego realized in a low voice. Her heart sank, as did her whole expression and body. The philosopher's stone had not worked. Kim was still a vampire; but if she was still a blood-drinker, why had the sun not killed her?

"Bill" shook his head while watching his guests. "You two are such children," he commented, having the nerve to sound serious.

"Shut up!" Shego roared in anger. "I promised her I'd cure her! _Promised_!"

"It was a promise that you can't keep. Being a vampire isn't a disease, just like having your special powers isn't a disease. This is what your friend is now. I told you that in the beginning," he pointed out.

"Then what the hell did it do to her?" Shego demanded to know while climbing to her feet and walking over to scream at "Bill" face to face.

"Well, from what I can tell, it made her immune to that sunlight problem that she had," he commented in a calm, almost dry tone. He wished that he could follow them around and find out what else the stone had done to the vampire.

"How the hell does the stone do that for her, but doesn't make her human again?" Shego huffed like a mad bull. A snarl tugged at her lip, but at least she was not attacking.

"Hell if I know. I've never used the stone on a vampire," he pointed out with a slight attitude of his own since he felt like he made that perfectly clear before even giving them the stone. He was just as curious as they were as far as the changes the stone would put them through. He had only seen it work on normal humans, after all.

Shego thought about it for a moment, hating that he made sense. "Is it safe for me to take her outside?" the former sidekick asked curiously, trying to hide her concern. She glanced at Kim, who was now fascinated with warmth of the sun on her skin.

"Looks that way. You two be careful. Immortal doesn't mean 'can't be killed,' after all," he informed them, actually sounding a little concerned.

"Yeah…" Shego agreed hesitantly. Their business was done then, she supposed. It was time to go. "Kimmie…"

"Yeah?" Kim replied, twisting and turning her hand in the light. She was only daring to put her hand there, not wanting to chance anything else. Her hand appreciated the light and the feel of the sun on her hand made the rest of her body envious, wanting the same treatment.

"Time to go home," Shego informed her companion with a little sigh. She sounded relieved despite everything that happened that night.

"Home?" Kim echoed and suddenly a thought hit her. Could she go home, to her family, still a vampire? Sure, she was now a vampire that could go out in the sun, but the most important point was that she was still a vampire. It was what she was now, according to the three millennia old alchemist. Would her family accept her as she was?

"Yeah, home," Shego repeated, looking out the window. She supposed that she was going to have to take a chance and walk with her little vampire into the sun. She was slightly nervous about, even though the redhead had already shown that she could take the light.

Kim only nodded and she turned her attention to "Bill." She smiled at him. "Thank you for this," she said, quite sincerely.

"Bill" smiled too; it had been a very long time since someone thanked him. He doubted that anyone had ever thanked him with such a bright smile. He figured that he could see the surface of why Shego would go so far for the vampire.

"Don't mention it. You two, take care of yourselves and each other. I wish you both all the luck in the world." Based on what he had seen of them so far, he doubted that they would need it.

Kim and Shego left the house on that note. Kim was a bit hesitant to step outside, but with some gentle coaxing from Shego, she faced her fear of the sun. The morning light washed over her and delighted every nerve ending that she had. She could not help smiling and sighing in relief.

"It feels so nice…" Kim commented in a low voice. She had her eyes closed, just taking in the warmth. It was like being sweetly kissed.

"So, you missed the sun too?" Shego asked curiously as they just stood outside of the small house. She took her redheaded cohort's hand in hers to just share in the moment.

"I did. It's nice to be in the sun again," Kim answered, a tiny smile tugging at her lips.

Shego nodded. The pair walked back to their home, taking their time. They continued to go on hand-in-hand, silently enjoying the daytime together for the first time. It was like magic.

They went same route home as when they came. They passed by a familiar alley to see that Lee's body was gone. They were not sure what happened to him, but they were too tired to care at the moment; they were also too wrapped up in each other and the sun.

They retired in Shego's bed when they got home. Her room had access to the wonderful sunlight that they both loved so much. They curled up in her large, comfortable bed and slept for hours as if they did not have a care in the world. When they woke up, Kim was happy to see that she had not turned to dust despite having the sun rays hitting her directly for the whole morning. She did find herself very hungry, though.

Actually, considering the night that she had, Kim did think that she could be much hungrier than she felt. Between the fight with the vampires, the vampire hunter, and the taxing experience with the philosopher's stone, she thought that she would be famished. She should have jumped on Shego as soon as she got a chance, she thought. But, that thought had not occurred to her because she was not starving like that.

"Shego…" Kim whispered to her still sleeping companion as she dismissed her thoughts. Sure, she was not famished, but she was still quite hungry.

"Hmm?" Shego replied…or maybe she was just making a noise considering the fact that she still seemed to be very much asleep.

"Can I have just a little taste?" the redhead requested in a low voice. She wanted Shego's permission, but she did not want to disturb the green-skinned woman's sleep.

"Hmm…"

Kim pouted since that was not the response that she was looking for. She decided against biting Shego without consent. She eased out of bed, stared at the sun for a little while longer with a smile, and then went to see if she had some food in the fridge.

"I can't believe I'm going to be drinking blood for the rest of my life, which could be forever," Kim sighed as she took the last of the blood packs that were in the refrigerator. "But, from now on, it'll probably be forever with Shego." She smiled at that thought.

The woman in her thoughts made her presence known only moments later. Shego eased up behind Kim, not really sneaking up on her since she was still a vampire. She did wrap her arms around the smaller female, hugging her slightly. The older woman purred when contact was made.

Shego needed to assure herself that the sun had not taken Kim from her, which she had thought when she first woke up because she was alone in the bed. No, Kim was still there, firm and solid, and obviously still quite the vampire.

"Shego," Kim began in whisper.

"Yes?" the older woman replied, cuddling her cheek in her companion's soft fiery mane.

"Can I go outside with you today?" the redhead requested, almost like a small child that expected to be denied such a privilege.

"If you want. We can sunbathe together…if it's safe."

Kim smiled. "Sounds nice."

For the next few days, the pair lived like they were in a dream. They were getting a feel for what Kim could do and what she could not. She went in the sun, but still felt the urge to sleep in the coffin. She still craved blood, but not as often as she did before. The hunger issue was something that Shego could relate to.

Shego found herself not really feeling hungry anymore. She still ate food and was satisfied with meals, but hunger really did not nip at her anymore. She blamed it on having nothing to do around the house and thought nothing of it.

They both could feel something happening to their bodies physically, but they were not entirely sure what it was until they sparred with each other. They both found that they no longer knew their own strength.

"What the fuck?" Shego muttered while looking down at her own hands as if she did not know they were hers.

"This again," Kim mumbled as she looked at her hands too.

"Again?" The pale woman glazed up at her opponent with confusion laced in her emerald eyes.

"When I became a vampire at first, it felt like my body wasn't my own, like now. It takes sometime to get used to."

Shego was not entirely sure if she liked that, but she supposed that she did not have a choice. It would seem that the stone had affects that she did not even think about. She wondered if she truly was immortal; she figured that only time would tell with that.

"You still wanna fight?" the plasma-wielder asked curiously.

Kim smirked. "You know I do."

The pair got back into their fighting stances and went at each other. They silently figured that the sparring would get them used to their bodies sooner too. Instead, they found out a bit more about things when a particularly hard hit caused Shego to react as she usually would: she flared her hands.

The jade plasma shot out as brightly as signal flare. Kim yelped, still having a healthy fear of her friend's powers. She fell back on her rump while Shego realized what happened.

"Oh shit!" Shego quickly put her hands out and turned to Kim. "Cupcake, are you all right?!" she begged to know as she bent down to the vampire.

"I think so. You smell something?" the redhead asked curiously.

Shego sniffed the air; yeah, she smelled something rather strongly. She glanced down and happened to see that she burned Kim's eyebrow, which was smoking. She made a panicked face for a second, but then she realized that she was able to touch Kim with her plasma.

"Uh…I don't smell anything. How about we call it a day? We can go take a shower," Shego suggested, knowing that would get Kim to agree with her and hopefully Kim would not notice that her eyebrow was singed.

The vampire eagerly agreed with that offer, nodding like a happy puppy. She hopped up off of the mats and they exited their workout room. Shego sighed, glad to have gotten away with something.

----(New day)

"Shego?" Kim said in a sort of a purr. She was curled up next to Shego, who was quite naked because they were supposed to be sunbathing. Kim was more just using it as an excuse to cuddle up to a nude Shego.

"Yes?" the raven-haired woman replied. If the vampire even hinted to sex, she was going to start a big fight. Not because she could not take it anymore, but because they had taken care of that before coming outside.

"Are we ever going to leave here?" the redhead asked curiously, turning her head to look up at her companion. Shego's eyes were closed, as she was just taking in the rays of the sun and enjoying that Kim was right next to her.

"If that's what you want," the older female answered before she could even process what Kim asked her.

"I want to see my family again. I think it's as safe it's going to be and it's been seven years now. I want to see them," Kim admitted. She had been thinking about it for a long time, even before the incident with the philosopher's stone. She could not put things off anymore; her heart cried out for them.

"I don't see why that should be a problem. Maybe we should see an old friend before hand. Just in case she's staking your house out," Shego replied. Deep in her heart, she did worry about Kim seeing her family again. Would she be forgotten for Kim's family? Sure, Kim had expressed a desire to be with Shego, but she fretted that that might have changed since Kim changed.

"You're right, but how do we get her to leave us alone? I mean, you're still a fugitive and I'm still a vampire," the redhead pointed out. Not to mention, that certain "friend" had deemed it necessary sic Lee on them and Lee had come very close to killing Shego. She doubted that they could trust that woman anymore.

"I don't know if we can talk her into leaving us alone, but we could always let her know that this is a game between the three of us and it wouldn't be a good idea for her to come after your family."

"Do you think she'll go for that?"

"She won't have a choice. I mean, would it be a good idea for her to go after your family?" Shego asked.

Kim frowned. "No," she practically growled. She would tear that miserable little human apart if she even though to harm any Possible!

"Okay then. Kimmie," Shego said in a different, soft sort of tone, letting the vampire know the subject was being changed.

"Yes?"

"I'm still going to cure you."

"I know." Kim pushed herself up a bit to place a deep kiss to Shego's mouth. The kiss backed up her words and her faith in the older woman. Things were not over yet, but they were constantly changing now. It was better than when everything seemed the same to them, which was back then they were prisoners.

--------------

Betty Director was lying in bed. She was about to go to sleep after a day of the usual work. She was not being hounded as much as she used to about the two that got away, but they were still actively looking for the dangerous pair. After all, that duo did consist of the world's most deadly women more than likely.

She sighed and settled into her pillow. The lights were out in her house and her security system in place. She felt like it was safe to go to bed until she heard a voice in the darkness.

"Nice place you got here," a voice that sounded suspiciously like Kim's commented.

"Security's a fucking joke, though," Shego added in.

Betty shot up in bed as the two most wanted women on the planet stepped into her vision range. They were dressed in all black, blending in with the night that covered them and the whole house. They had the nerve to look smug, as if boasting that they had broken into one of the most secure places in the country.

"Don't get up on our account," Shego informed the one-eyed woman, smiling like a demon as she spoke.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Betty demanded to know. Her voice was firm, but there was a tiny sliver of fear underneath her bravado. After all, she had been on the receiving end of Kim's wrath when the vampire did not get her way and she stopped seeing human beings. She hated to think about what would happen if she was on the end of that fury again, especially if Kim already thought of her as the enemy.

"We've come to set the rules to the little game we're going to be playing for the rest of your life or until you grow a brain, whichever," Shego told her in an almost frivolous tone.

"Rules?" Betty echoed, perplexed to say the least.

Kim chimed in. "Rule one: you do NOT come after my family in any way, shape, or form while trying to get to us. Rule two: you do NOT try to use Shego's family to get to us. Rule three: you do NOT attempt to kill either one of us, or even send people that might try to kill us. Rule four: this game is between _you_ and _us_, so keep it that way. If you break any of these rules, one or both of us will be back here, where you sleep, while you're asleep, and you won't like it. Maybe we'll tear a few chunks of flesh away," the vampire said while holding up her claws and Shego flexed her own.

"And maybe that'll just be the start of it. We're not your little toys to play with, Betty," Shego said venomously, hissing out the director's name.

"We won't leave a pretty corpse," Kim promised in a dead serious tone. She could not find it in her heart to have mercy on a woman that employed the man that nearly took her most precious companion from her.

"Hell, we might not even leave a corpse," Shego added in, just as serious. She had been done and fed up with Director for a while now, ever since the woman seemed to think of Kim as a toy. She was just looking for a reason now; it did not help matters that Betty sent the vampire hunter that nearly killed her and could have killed Kim.

Betty wanted to say something back, but the cold look in those green eyes had her mouth sealed shut. Kim was wearing her "humans mean nothing to me" look and it was being mirrored by Shego, which was totally new to the leader of GJ. It was clear that neither of them would have any qualms with destroying her if she broke their set rules for catching them.

"You don't have to answer. Just think about it," Shego said and with that, the pair was gone as suddenly as they appeared. Betty did not get any sleep that night.

"So, now what?" Kim asked curiously as they strolled down the clear street like two normal people.

"Let's go check out where we'll be staying to see what we need to do with it and then we'll see your family first thing tomorrow, okay?" Shego replied.

Kim nodded. They were going to lay claim to one of Drakken's old lairs that was nearby, figuring that he did not need it anymore considering the fact that he was still in jail. No one had bothered to break him out, after all.

The duo made it to a lair that was just outside of Middleton. They figured that Betty would never think to look for them so close by. They looked around the place, which was covered in dust and machines that they were never going to use.

"We can make it look like our other place," Kim said with beaming hope and a bright smile. Hard to believe that she was the same person threatening Betty Director less than an hour ago.

"Sure, we can do that. For now, let's just get some sleep. You can be fresh for your meeting tomorrow," Shego answered.

"You're coming with me right?" the redhead asked with wide eyes.

"If you want me to."

Kim latched onto Shego. "Of course I want you to! I want you to always be with me," she reminded the older woman.

Shego actually smiled. "I'll always be there," she promised. "So, let's get some sleep."

The pair retired to Shego's old room, which was covered in as much dust as the rest of the lair. They cleaned things as best they could; they actually did a thorough enough job that they were quite comfortable staying there. They had spare clothing, so they changed into pajamas before cuddling up in bed together.

"When we get this place cleaned up, we've got to break in the bed," Kim commented before snuggling her face into her partner's neck.

"Sure," Shego agreed. Lately, she had been having all of the energy she needed to keep up with Kim, who still had her raging libido. She knew that was because of the philosopher's stone; she did not have a problem with that. She was quite glad to be able to please Kim as often as the vampire wanted now. After all, Kim was always there for her when she was "needy."

Kim practically purred, thinking of all of the things that she was going to do to Shego later on, and hopefully all of the things that Shego would do to her. With luck, things would start shaping up and life would get better than it had been for the past seven years.

----(Next day)

Kim was bouncing on her heels, obviously nervous about what she was going to do. She was clutching Shego tightly as they stood on the front steps of what was her home before she was changed. Shego held onto her, assuring her that everything would be fine with her presence, as she knocked on the door.

Kim's grip tightened as a familiar voice called out for them to hold on for a minute. It was the heavenly voice of reason that used to help her through what she always thought were complicated issues in her life. Looking back on things now, she supposed that sometimes she troubled her mother with trivial matters; not that she knew that at the time.

When the door opened, Kim was not even sure what to say. Her mother was standing there, looking older than she recalled, but she reminded herself that not only had seven years passed, but her eyes were sharper than they used to be. It was not a bad thing, but it just reminded her how long she had been gone.

Ann was speechless as she stared at her daughter, who looked the same as when she vanished so long ago, but was obviously different. Ann's arms went automatically out and around Kim, even though she was pressed very close to Shego at the moment. It was like Ann did not even notice Shego.

"We've missed you so much," Ann whispered with a sigh of relief. She could not believe how good and reassuring it felt to hold her daughter again.

"I've missed you too, Mom," Kim said in a low voice of her own while she finally let go of Shego to return her mother's embrace.

"Come on in." Ann took her daughter by the hand to usher her into the house.

Kim quickly took Shego's hand so that she was not forgotten. The gesture was not lost on the plasma-wielder and she smiled to herself. Once they were in the house, Ann shut the door behind them. Kim was surprised to see not only her family in the house, but her closest friends: Ron, Wade, and Monique. Yori was also there, but she could not exactly be called a "close friend" since Kim did not get the chance to truly know her before her "accident."

"Kim!" The crowd in the house rushed Kim and hugged her tightly.

"What're you all doing here? How'd you know I was going to come by today?" Kim asked curiously.

Kim was not given an answer to that question. Instead, they all quickly went into catching up. Kim noted that they all ignored the fact that she was not dead and did not ask where she had been for the past seven years. They just tried to catch her up in their lives, wanting her to be included in everything that she missed.

Ron told her about how he and Yori got married. He sounded a bit apologetic about it, but he seemed to be forcing it. Kim only smiled, expressing joy that Ron found happiness with Yori.

"It's good that you're happy," Kim assured her oldest friend. All she wanted to do was get back into his life and friendship was fine by her, especially since she had a significant other now also.

"More than you know," Ron said with a sheepish smile. He felt so guilty that he had not been able to save Kim years ago and then he had the nerve to move on with his life while she went through who-knew-what.

"What do you mean?" Kim asked curiously.

"Married with kids," Monique filled her in since Ron seemed to suffering from some silencing shame.

"Kids?" Kim sounded amazed, but found out that Ron was not the only one married, nor was he was he only one with kids. Monique had a husband and baby of her own. Kim wasted no time being happy for both of them and wanting to know about their families. Ron, Yori, and Monique all were happy to tell her about their families too.

Kim then turned to find out what her brothers had been up to since she was gone. She could not believe how much they and Wade had grown in the past seven years. They were kids when she last saw them, now they were men. Men that had graduated high school, college, and other educational programs. Men with jobs now, apparently.

"So, you're telling me you actually get paid to blow stuff up?" Kim asked the tweebs in disbelief.

"You know it!" Jim grinned.

"Perfect job!" Tim said, throwing his fist in the air. Kim laughed a bit, happy for her brothers, but a bit nervous for the rest of the world.

"What about you, Kimmie-cub?" her father asked curiously. "What have you been doing these past years?"

Kim did not miss a beat. "Staying with the greatest woman on Earth," she answered and she turned to grab Shego, only to find that she was gone. "Shego? Shego?" Kim was about to panic, wondering why Shego would leave her now, but then she spotted the green-skinned woman standing off to the side, practically hiding in the kitchen. "Come here, you." Kim grabbed Shego and held her close, letting everyone know that they were a couple.

Shego actually had to suppress a blush trying to form on her cheeks from knowing that not only was she not forgotten, but Kim was not afraid to show how close they were to her family. Maybe there was nothing to worry about and Kim really would stay with her forever. She would never be alone.

The visit went fine and well into the night. Kim and Shego stayed for dinner, where Kim ate, but the food did nothing for her. She was not too sure if her family knew that she was a vampire or not and she would rather that conversation wait until she was back home a few more times. The whole thing was pleasant and Kim promised to come back in a few days, but she and Shego had cleaning to do at their home.

"Take care, Kimmie," Ann and James said at the same time while walking Shego and Kim to the door.

"I will. We'll be back," Kim promised.

"You keep taking care of her, Shego. Make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble and keep her away from boys," James commented, which earned a chuckle from Shego while Kim just shook her head.

"I doubt that'll be a problem," Shego answered. Kim actually blushed a bit; who knew a vampire could blush.

--------------

"Shego, did you set up that meeting with everyone today?" Kim asked curiously as they settled into bed. They had gotten a lot of cleaning done and managed to start updating the security system of the lair.

"Maybe," Shego answered cryptically.

"Why?"

"You wanted to see everyone. So, I just made sure everyone was together."

Kim smiled sweetly. "That was nice of you. But then, how come you tried hiding?"

Shego shrugged, but she knew that the subject was not going to be dropped. "I thought you'd want to be by yourself while reestablishing your ties and everything."

Kim giggled a bit. "Silly. I want to do that, but I also want them to know I'm with you forever and always now. So, they should get used to seeing you."

Shego could not help smiling, which Kim noticed. She flipped over to where she was lying on Shego now. She leaned down and placed a sweet kiss to Shego's mouth.

"We're always going to be together, right?" the redhead asked.

"Like you said, always and forever," Shego answered and she now sincerely believed those words. They were never going to be alone. She wrapped her arms around Kim and pulled the vampire down for another, deeper kiss that reminded them both of the fathomless, eternal connection that they shared.

--------------

The end.


End file.
